A Field Trip To Remember
by TheCastorbean
Summary: "I still can't figure out how they managed to convince the school to let us do this." "Something about 'educating our youth on the growing ghost problem,'" Because sending an 11th grade science class into the Ghost Zone is totally the way to do that.
1. Chapter 1

"Danny" The dark haired teen jerked as a hand landed on his shoulder then relaxed as he realized that it was only his girlfriend, Sam Manson, eyeing him with a look of slight concern "…you okay?"

He stared into her lovely violet eyes for a few moments before glancing away again, letting his gaze flint nervously around the room. "Not really, no."

Tucker appeared at his left and elbowed Danny jovially, "Come on man I'm sure it'll be fine"

The halfa nodded but didn't seem convinced as he focused his attention on his father, who was currently standing in front of his science class pointing out the various weapons on the newly modified Specter Speeder 2.0.

It was only this morning that Danny discovered the scheduled field trip to the Ghost Zone that Mr. Lancer and his parents had planned for the class. He, Sam, and Tucker had all come in late the day they'd first announced it thanks to an impromptu visit from the Lunch Lady and nobody had seen fit to inform them. Danny's permission slip had been signed by his parents without his knowledge and thanks to Sam's exceptional signature forgery skills (obtained from years of her parents barring her from doing anything fun) both she and Tuck were able to hand theirs in just before they'd hopped on the bus and headed to Fenton Works.

"…This baby has been upgraded to hold about twenty people, outfitted with several ecto-weapons and a portable ghost shield. It's also got a new ecto-converter that turns ecto-energy into fuel, in a place like the Ghost Zone it's like an infinite battery that's guaranteed to never run out."

Mr. Lancer stepped forward, "You mentioned weapons are you sure that this trip is going to be safe?"

"Of course it's safe," Maddie Fenton replied, stepping out from behind the Speeder to stand beside her husband, "we've rerouted all weapons controls so that they can only be accessed from the driver and passenger seats, the ghost shield is guaranteed to keep out any spectral entities and the doors are airtight to protect against ectoplasmic contamination. The entire vehicle and everything in it has been triple checked and is ready for launch."

Mr. Lancer eyed the vehicle dubiously for a few moments before nodding slowly and motioning for the kids at the front of the crowd to begin boarding. Danny, Sam and Tucker lagged at the back of the line and were the last to get on; taking up residence in the back of the vehicle shortly before the doors sealed shut.

Jack sat down in the driver's seat and flicked on a switch, making the engines hum as they started up. "Everybody strapped in?" he called over his shoulder, receiving only a few half-hearted replies, though the apparent lack of enthusiasm did nothing to faze him as he shifted the Speeder into gear and pressed a button on the console. The ghost portal slid open and Jack gunned it, sending them through the swirling vortex and into the Zone.

The class crowded around the windows and pressed their hands to the glass _oohing_ and _aahing_ at the swirling green sky. At the back of the Speeder Danny unzipped his backpack and handed Sam and Tuck a pair of Fenton phones and wrist rays which they quickly slipped on.

"Well you came prepared," Sam commented dryly as she eyed the ecto-pistols and thermos stuffed in among crumpled papers and books.

"It was all I could grab," Danny replied, "I still can't figure out how they managed to convince the school to let us do this."

"Something about 'educating our youth on the growing ghost problem,'" Tucker said.

Danny sighed and ran a hand roughly through his hair, "I can't believe this is actually happening."

Sam scooted closer and brushed her shoulder against his, twining their hands together at the same time. Ice blue met violet as she gave him a small smile that made his heart jump. "It'll be fine Danny, just like your parents said nothing can make it past the portable ghost shield and even if it could this thing is loaded down with weapons, there's nothing to worry about." The teen hero smiled softly and shifted closer so that they were leaning against each other, "You're probably right."

"Might want to tone down the PDA guys, might disrupt Sharon's signal," Tuck said, gesturing to his technological 'baby' with an obvious smirk on his face. Sam's cheeks grew rosy and she used her free hand to punch Tuck in the shoulder, which got a laugh from Danny and a fake groan of pain from the techno geek.

While the three teens had been engrossed in conversation the rest of the class had quickly grown bored of the endlessly swirling green sky and numerous oddly shaped doors. Some had reclined back in their seats, choosing to converse with their friends while others were still staring out the windows in moderate interest as the endless expanse of the Ghost Zone continued to pass by.

"Do you think we'll see Danny Phantom?" Paulina asked excitedly, staring out the window as if he would appear the moment she looked away.

"I hope so, he's the reason I decided to come on this stupid trip in the first place," Cassie replied, "what do you think Star?"

"It would be cool to see him," she said, "he is the hero of Amity Park after all."

Jack let out a deep laugh from the front of the Speeder, "The ghost kid is no hero, he's just a putrid pile of ectoplasmic scum."

Maddie nodded, "He's done plenty of nasty stuff while he's been 'protecting' the town but everyone seems to overlook that and focus only on his so called 'heroics.' He's really no better than the rest of these ectoplasmic scumbags and that's what this trip is meant to teach you, know thy enemy."

Nobody really had anything to say to that and conversation between the teens and ghost hunters died down until Mikey spoke up. "What are those doors?" he asked.

"We aren't sure," Maddie answered.

"Your ghost experts and you don't know?" Dash asked, rolling his eyes at the 'Freaky Fenton's' as the A-listers had taken to calling them. The subtle jab made Paulina and Cassie giggle while Kwan cracked a grin.

"We haven't explored very much of the Zone to be honest, it's possible that the doors may lead to another portion of the Zone or even an alternate dimension. There's no telling where it might lead and without the normal laws of physics present there's no telling what could be lurking behind the doors. They could be simple decorations but it's better not to chance it without more observation."

Dash shrugged disinterestedly at the answer while Mikey glanced back out the window. "I wish that we could get a closer look" the science geek mumbled.

At the back of the Speeder a blue wisp slipped out between Danny's parted lips. "Oh no," the halfa groaned. The Speeder's alarm went off, flooding the interior with red light as several weapons extended from the vehicle and trained on the lone figure in their path.

"Ghost!" Jack and Maddie shouted.

"Nothing to worry about folks we've got it!" Jack continued as a murmur rippled through the crowd. They all clustered around the windows again while the orange-hazmat clad father gripped the controls in preparation to open fire. Danny stood from his seat and shoved his way through the throng of people, grabbing ahold of the passenger seat as he gazed out the windshield. The figure was distinctly feminine with green skin and long dark hair. The halfa recognized her instantly.

" _So you have wished it…"_

"Oh man, mom, dad, we need to-"

"… _and so it shall be!"_

The Speeder was suddenly flying through the air, spiraling out of control. People shrieked and screamed, grabbing onto whatever they could reach to try and keep from being thrown. Danny latched onto the back of his parent's seats and held on as they rammed into something, creating a bone jarring impact before continuing their downward descent. Something else hit the left side, making the vehicle swing right. A loud crack suddenly sounded and rushing air clawed at Danny's legs as they were hit again and everything went dark.

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With a groan Danny slowly opened his eyes. It took a moment for his vision to come into focus and another for his mind to process what it was that he was seeing.

The Speeder was completely trashed.

It had been split down the middle. Shattered glass peppered the ground around the warped frame along with other debris, which consisted of several chunks of the outer shell that had been stripped from the hull and a few unidentifiable lumps of grey that had to be some of the seats.

The halfa heaved himself to his feet, hissing in pain and glancing down to see a decent sized chunk of metal lodged in his calf. Deciding to save treating the injury for later he half-jogged, half-limped over to the wreckage and peered inside.

"Anyone there?" he called out, stepping over shredded scraps of metal as he made his way toward the front.

"Over here."

He spun around and found Valerie and Star trapped under a pair of seats. The dark haired teen rushed over to the two girls and lifted the tattered pieces of leather and metal. They both crawled out and he let it drop back down.

"Are you two okay?" he asked.

They both nodded.

"Good, we need to look for the others."

Over the next half hour they managed to find Paulina, Cassie, Kwan, Dash and Mikey. Both Fenton parents and Mr. Lancer showed up about ten minutes into the search, having been thrown from the vehicle just like Danny. Aside from Danny's leg Mr. Lancer appeared to have a broken arm while Mikey had scraped by with a sprained ankle and a decent sized laceration running from elbow to wrist. Other than that everyone was alright.

"We need to start looking for the others," Mr. Lancer said, "I'm not going to leave my students alone in this – this…ghoulish wasteland."

"We agree Mr. Lancer," Maddie replied, "only half the Speeder is here, meaning that other half crashed somewhere else, though if it did I'm not sure how we're going to find it."

"From the direction of the crash can't you estimate where the other half might've landed?" Valarie piped up from she was resting.

"Well, that is true but without proper knowledge of how the Ghost Zone operates we won't be able to get an exact location-"

" _Gilligan's island_ , I thought you two were ghost experts are you trying to say that you've never been here before?"

"Well…" Jack said, glancing at his wife, "…no we haven't."

"We were really only going to explore the area surrounding Fenton Portal," Maddie rushed to explain, "we ran several simulations in the lab before we left and all of them predicted that it would be safe, we even added extra weaponry and the ghost shield just to make sure."

"Lot of good that did," Dash grumbled from where he sat next to Kwan.

"So you have no idea where we are and no idea how to find the others?" Lancer asked.

Jack and Maddie reluctantly nodded and Lancer sighed in frustration.

Danny stood near the wreckage with a thick bandage wrapped around his still bleeding calf. He fingered the Fenton Phones, glancing over to make sure everyone was preoccupied arguing before slipping behind the destroyed remains of the Speeder and pressing the call button.

"Guys, you there?" he asked.

"… _Danny?"_

"Sam, are you okay?"

" _Yea, Tuck and I are fine."_

"Is there anyone else with you?"

" _We have Aless, Nathan, Kate, Rory and Trev,"_ Tuck said, _"Rory might have a concussion, Aless has a nasty cut on her leg, and Nathan seems to have a busted hand but otherwise we're all okay."_

" _What about you?"_ Sam asked.

"We've got everyone else, Lancer has a broken arm and Mikey has a sprained ankle but nobody has anything worse than that," Danny answered, deciding to leave out the injury on his calf. No need to worry them unnecessarily when it would probably be healed in a few hours anyway. "Where are you?"

" _Floating island. I can see the Ghost Writers place in the distance,"_ Sam said.

"Crud…we're out near Skulkers place that's the opposite side of the Zone."

" _And a long way from the Fenton Portal,"_ Tuck added.

"Okay what are we gonna do?"

" _I think we should meet up in the Far Frozen."_

" _And admit that we know the Zone well enough to get there?"_ Sam cut in.

" _I don't like it either but we don't have a lot of options,"_ Tucker responded.

" _What about convincing Danny's parents to trust a ghost?"_

"I'll think of something to tell them, Tuck's right we don't have much of a choice. Besides, Frostbite and his people have been working on replicating the Speeder since we last brought it and they're the best when it comes to medicine. If you're near the Ghost Writer then it shouldn't take you more than a day or two to reach Pandora right? She could probably give you a lift over to the Far Frozen."

" _What about you?"_ Sam asked, _"your gonna' have to sneak by Skulker and Walker."_

Danny sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "No choice, there's no other way to reach the Far Frozen."

" _At least not unless you want everyone to know your secret,"_ Tucker said.

The halfa chuckled humorlessly, "Oh yea, in front of my ghost hunting parents, the Huntress, and all the A-listers how fun would that be?"

" _As fun as hanging out with Vlad,"_ Sam said.

" _Ha! Or being locked in a broom closet with Klemper and the Box Ghost,"_ Tucker added.

They all laughed at that one.

"Okay, do you have enough supplies to make it to Pandora's?"

" _We managed to find a few boxed lunches so we should be fine."_

"Good, we got med-kit and some of the emergency rations that my parents keep stashed in the Speeder, they might hold until we reach the Far Frozen. Are your weapons okay?"

" _Still operational for the most part, my wrist ray got a little roughed up in the crash but it still works. We managed to find your bag too so we also have the ecto-pistols and the thermos,"_ Sam said.

"Even better, let's keep in contact and check in every few hours."

" _Roger,"_ Tucker replied.

" _Be careful Danny,"_ Sam said.

He smiled at the concern in her voice, "I will and you both be careful too. See you at the Far Frozen."

They all clicked off and Danny turned to go back to the others, nearly colliding with his mom as she came around the corner.

"Danny where have you been, you should be resting not walking around on that leg," Maddie bent down to examine the bandage, placing a concerned hand on his shoulder as if she expected him to collapse at any moment.

"I'm fine mom," he said, which was the truth. Being half ghost made his healing abilities far greater than those of a normal human; he could already feel the skin beginning to knit back together under the bandages. Ah, thank god that the endless supply of ecto-energy in the Ghost Zone helped speed up his recovery.

In the time that he was gone all the A-listers had gathered together while Valerie and Mikey sat on the fringes, Star was situated between Valerie and Kwan. Lancer had taken up residence on a rock parallel to the students and looked a bit annoyed to be sitting next to Jack Fenton, who was snacking on one of the granola bars from the emergency rations they'd salvaged.

Aside from the murmured conversation between the A-listers nobody else was talking and the argument about what to do next seems to have died down for the moment. Danny sighed and stopped, making his mother look back at him questioningly and give a light tug on his shirt, no doubt wanting him to sit down and rest his still injured leg.

"I know the way out," he said suddenly.

Everyone jerked to attention, all eyes on him with expressions varying from disbelief to mild surprise. Danny resisted the urge to cringe at the sudden attention, having to squelch the impulse to revoke the statement by saying that he had been kidding and remind himself that this was the only way to make sure that everyone got out alright, which is all that matters in the long run.

"And how would you know that Fenton?" Dash tossed out accusingly.

"I've been here before."

Everyone gasped.

"Daniel James Fenton how did this happen?" Maddie cried out, looking both angry and astonished as she glared down at her son.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck and tried to appear sheepish, "I was cleaning the lab and accidentally knocked your anniversary present into the portal...after I got it out I guess that I just got curious and kept going back."

"And how long has this been going on for?" Maddie questioned, still looking angry.

"A while now, me, Sam and Tuck have…uh… _borrowed_ the Speeder a few times and gone exploring."

"You brought Sam and Tucker with you too!?"

"Yea and I know where we are."

Turning away from his still fuming mother Danny pointed in the direction of a floating island off in the distance, "If we keep heading that way we should be able to make it to the Far Frozen in two or three days tops, that's where we'll meet Sam, Tuck, and everyone else."

"How do you know they'll be there?" Mr. Lancer asked, standing from where he was situated on the rock to join in the discussion.

Danny pointed to the Fenton Phone still in his ear, "Sam, Tuck, and I all snagged a pair before we left, apparently they managed to find everyone else and are going to meet us at the Far Frozen."

Maddie opened her mouth, probably either to scold him or ask another question. Not wanting to deal with the imminent interrogation Danny quickly continued, "Everybody should probably get some rest now, we aren't gonna be able to take many breaks once we start moving."

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"Be careful Danny."

She could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, _"I will and you both be careful too. See you at the Far Frozen."_

The line went silent and the Goth teen turned back to their little group. Everyone was huddled at the center of the small island they had landed on, some nursing injuries while others were glancing around nervously. She shared a look with Tucker, who gave a short nod.

"Okay people, we're going to have to start moving," Sam said, "we have a destination and it's gonna be a day or so until we reach it."

"How do you know where to go?" Trev asked.

Sam leveled him with a glare and he stared back defiantly despite the chill that went down his spine.

"We've hung out with Danny for years and know more about the Ghost Zone then all of you combined, you can either stick with us or stay here and try to figure a way out by yourself. Guess which option gives you a better chance?"

Everyone stared silently at Sam looking equal parts surprised and fearful. She was usually aloof and snarky, taking anything anyone threw at her and tossing it back ten times stronger. The commanding woman in front of them was both foreign and familiar at the same time.

Aless was the first to stand, "I'm with you guys, rather have someone with at least some idea of what they're doing leading me around then wandering by myself."

Kate hesitantly stood with Aless, keeping a step behind the bold blonde as she nodded, "I-I agree."

Nathan and Rory also stood with Rory keeping a hand on Nathans shoulder for balance. Trev glanced around before scowling and standing as well. Sam gave a short nod, "Good, now we need to work on finding a way off this rock and over to that path." She pointed to a narrow road that seemed to continue endlessly in both directions.

"We're about 100 feet from it and there's a chance that I can calibrate the thrusters with my PDA," Tucker said, tapping furiously on the device, "they should work long enough to get us close."

"How close exactly Tuck?" Sam asked.

He glanced up from his work and met her eyes, "Not close enough so that we won't have to jump."

"Alright," she turned to address the rest of the group, "Looks like we're gonna have to jump, Aless how's your leg?"

"Fine now, I used some stuff from my bag to fix it up."

"What kind of stuff?" Nathan asked, eyeing the torn fabric of her pant leg.

She hesitated a moment before answering, "My mom is really into herbs and essential oils and stuff, I always carry a little with me and I used it to disinfect the wound."

"What about the blood?"

"Used a pad."

Trev scrunched up his nose, Nathan blushed and sputtered out a few jumbled words while Rory laughed, quickly stopping when it made his head throb. Kate looked embarrassed. Both Sam and Tuck smiled. As usual Aless's expression remained detached, unreadable, and almost bored.

"If it's gonna' take a minute for Tuck to get those thrusters working we should probably have a look at everyone's injuries," Sam said in the wake of the following silence, "I have some medical experience, we can work on that while Tuck does his thing. Aless you're with Rory, try using a scrap of cloth and a water bottle to ice down his head, it's the best we can do right now."

"Roger."

Both girls knelt down beside Nathan and Rory, working on their respective patients while Tuck continued fiddling with the remains of the Speeder.

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"My feet are killing me," Paulina complained for about the hundredth time since they'd set off.

Danny sighed and tried to ignore her, trudging on ahead at the front of the pack while continuously glancing at Skulkers Island and praying that the hunter didn't notice them.

"Maybe you shouldn't have worn those stupid heels then!" Valarie snapped, seeming to have finally lost patience with the whiney Latina.

Paulina snorted, "How was I supposed to know that we'd have to _walk_?"

Valarie mumbled something under her breath and turned back to the path, probably finding the effort it would take to respond better spent walking.

Mr. Lancer made his way to the front of the line and lightly tapped Danny on the shoulder, "Uh Mr. Fenton why is it so important that we hurry through here? We have plenty of supplies and there doesn't seem to be any danger…"

Danny's eyes flickered briefly to Skulkers Island before he sighed and pointed to it, "There's a ghost that lives on that island, not very friendly and not one that you'd want to run into. If we stop and he spots us we'll be in some serious trouble, which is why we need to get through here as quickly as possible before he-"

A sudden wisp of blue hissed out from between Danny's lips and he cursed silently before whirling around to find the aforementioned hunter hovering above them with a smirk adorning his mechanical features.

"Nice of you to drop by whelp," Skulker said raising the ecto-blaster attached to his wrist, "now prepare to furnish the foot of my bed!"

A bright blue beam shot out of the ghostly weapon. The halfa teen pushed his teacher out of the way and jerked back just as the blast hit the spot they'd just been occupying. "Once again, ew, and I like my pelt right where it is thanks," Danny shouted as he sprinted down the path, leading Skulker away from the rest of the group while firing shots from his wrist ray. None of them hit and the hunter laughed at the pathetic resistance, swooping low and making the half-ghost dive out of the way. Curling into a ball Danny rolled with it and sprang back to his feet just in time to dodge one of Skulker's mini-missiles.

"Is this all you've got?" the specter taunted, firing several blasts from the cannons on his robotic forearms.

Skulker was suddenly blindsided by Maddie, who had brought out the portable light-saber like device that she'd used to fight of the hoard of ghosts at Vlad's and bashed it into the back of Skulkers head. Meanwhile Jack pulled an ecto-gun from his belt and shouted: "Eat laser ghost scum!" before firing a volley of shots at the hunter.

Upon landing from a mid-air flip Maddie turned and made to lunge at Skulker again but this time the hunter was ready and managed to grab the staff, using his superior strength to whip the ghost fighter into her husband. They both went spiraling backwards and Skulker returned his attention to Danny.

Glancing briefly at his family and classmates the teen pursed his lips, _'I guess I've got no choice…'_

Still dodging Skulker's fire Danny jumped, adding just a touch of flight so that he was directly in front of the hunter. Grabbing onto both mechanical wrists Danny placed his feet firmly in the center of Skulkers chest and pushed. The addition of his ghostly strength tore the arms from the rest of the mechanical body. The specter jerked back while Danny fell, doing a mid-air flip and landing on his feet. One of the arms fell from his slackened grip. Wielding the other like a club the halfa charged Skulker, who had activated both blasters attached to his shoulders and continued firing.

Danny zigzagged back and forth across the path to miss the shots and brought the arm down on Skulkers head, receiving a double dose of blaster fire at close range the exact same moment. The dark haired teen was sent spiraling backwards and rolled with it, digging his heels into the ground to get his bearings before ditching the arm and lunging again. Skulker recovered and took aim with the shoulder blasters once more.

At the last possible second Danny dropped to the ground and slid between Skulkers legs, springing up before the specter could turn around and wrapping his arms around the hunter's metal neck. Skulkers jet pack flared to life and they both shot into the air, swerving back and forth as the ghoul attempted to knock him off.

"Release me whelp!" Skulker shouted angrily, taking a sharp turn that nearly sent the halfa flying.

"Not happening you overgrown tin can," Danny replied, gritting his teeth and adjusting his grip around the ghostly hunter's neck before twisting it sharply to one side.

A garbled noise escaped Skulkers mouth as the jet pack powered down and they both started to descend. Wrenching the head from the rest of the body Danny leapt from the mechanical suit just as it hit the ground. The force of the landing made a piece of the path break off and it, along with the suit, fell into the endless abyss of swirling green below. Danny curled his body around the head and hit the ground, skidding several feet before sliding to a stop. He sighed heavily and took his time standing, using one hand to brush the dirt from his jeans while the other held Skulkers head.

"Danny!"

He glanced up to see his mom rushing toward him with the others following close behind. She grabbed both his shoulders, eyes scanning for new injuries and locking on the torn and singed portions of his clothing, evidently he hadn't dodged Skulkers blasts as well as he'd thought. "Are you alright sweetie?"

The halfa teen nodded and held up Skulkers head, reaching inside and receiving a collection of horrified gasps and disgusted shouts. "Relax everyone," he said, pulling the struggling hunter from the metal helmet and holding him up so that everyone could see, "the metal armor was just a suit, _this_ is the real Skulker."

"You insolent fool! Release me! I am the greatest Hunter in all of Ghost Zone, you will all fear me!" The little green blob shouted angrily, "I will take all your pelts and use them as wall decorations!"

Several people cringed at that, seeming disgusted by the threats while Danny merely rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah just do us all a favor and take a hike." Winding his arm back Danny chucked Skulker further back the way they'd come, adding a bit of his ghost strength for good measure.

"We should all get moving," Danny said, turning and continuing down the path without a second glance at Skulker, "we'll take a rest once we get a bit further down."

The halfa set a somewhat speedy pace and hoped that his urgency coupled with the surprise that everyone was obviously feeling at his display would stave off any questions that they felt compelled to ask. Unfortunately he wasn't that lucky. Five steps later a hand latched onto his shoulder and he turned to find his mother's violet eyes burning into his own.

"Have you fought that ghost before?" she asked.

After slight hesitation he nodded, "Ran into him during one of our explorations, he's a hunter that likes to capture 'rare' creatures and 'put them on display.'"

"And you fought with him? Knowing that he was dangerous?"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck habitually, "We didn't exactly have a choice."

Maddie looked thrown for a moment, like she didn't know what to say. "We need to get those injuries looked at, you just sit down and – Jack! Bring the first aid kit!" she finally said after several silent moments, twisting her neck back to shout at her husband. Jack Fenton, who had been staring wide-eyed at his son caught between shock and a trace amount of pride, suddenly jerked to life and fumbled to grab the first aid kit that had dropped to the ground during the fight.

Pushing gently on his shoulders she tried to get him to lower himself to the ground but he remained standing and stepped away from her gentle grasp. "I'm fine mom, their just grazes is all and we need to keep moving."

"Just grazes, you got shot in the chest!" she cried, pointing to the smoldering remains of his shirt.

Danny cursed silently, remembering the close range hit from Skulkers blasters. It was true that it did hurt, maybe broke a rib or two but they hadn't punctured any of his organs and it's nowhere near the worst he's ever had. They'll likely be mostly healed by the time they make it to the Far Frozen anyway.

"That ray is equipped to hurt ghosts not humans," Danny lied, "I only got knocked back by the force of the blast I'm honestly fine."

Maddie's hands grasped the torn edges of his shirt and started to pull them back, "Then you might have a broken rib, here let me-" Danny grabbed both his mother's wrists and pulled them away from his shirt, shooting her a reassuring grin.

"Really mom I'm fine, a new shirt would be nice though anyone got one?" he asked, directing the question to the people standing behind his mother.

Kwan raised his hand, "Yea I've got one."

Danny walked around his mother and made his way over to the football player, "Really? Thanks."

Kwan only nodded and pulled a simple white T-shirt from a drawstring bag that he'd been carrying. Danny recognized it as a gym shirt, thankfully clean, and accepted with another gracious thanks before moving back to the front of the group and turning away to change.

A collection of gasps rose from the crowd as what was left of his red long-sleeved shirt fluttered to the ground and he quickly pulled the fresh shirt over his head before turning to face them with a smile painted on his face and a silent prayer that none of them would ask.

" _Lord of the Flies_ , Mr. Fenton" Lancer gasped, "where on earth did you get so many scars!?"

Danny inwardly groaned, _'Of course, of course they would ask…'_

"Would you believe me if I told you that I've been ghost hunting?"

"Wait that's why you've been coming home late and not showing up for your classes?" Maddie said, almost loud enough to cover Jack's sudden exclamation of "THAT'S MY BOY!" from where he stood next to his wife. A swift elbow to the ribs made the Fenton father quiet down but he still looked mildly pleased to find out that his son was a ghost hunter.

Danny laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah…Me, Sam and Tuck have been hunting ghosts."

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Dash stood at the back of the crowd, eyebrows reaching for his hairline as he stared at Danny Fenton, the wimpy little nerd that he'd wailed on for _years_ who now seemed like a totally different person. Without his baggy long-sleeved shirt everyone could plainly see the well-toned muscles that rippled beneath his skin and the scars that crisscrossed his arms. Dash hadn't gotten a very good look at his back, Fenton had pulled Kwan's shirt on too quickly for that, but he had managed to make out long slashes and a few paint-splatter shaped marks, almost like he'd been too close to a bomb when it went off. They had all been a slightly lighter shade than his skin which was already pale.

The obvious scars and muscle clearly indicated that Fenton was no stranger to fighting and after watching him take down that mechanical ghost Dash could only wonder: _'How have I been beating him up all this time?'_

Fenton had attacked that ghost without any hesitation, every one of his movements were confident and precise. He had torn the ghost's arms off for goodness sake! Jumped a good ten feet in the air to do it too. The display was almost…inhuman.

Dash had long since lost count of the amount of times he'd shoved Danny Fenton in his own locker over the past few years, pushed him around in the halls, punched him just because he could, the list goes on. The scrawny nerd that he'd always recognized as his walking stress relief punching bag suddenly seemed like a distant memory when compared to the teen standing before him. The usual quiet demeanor that defined Fenton was nearly gone, the confident kid that had just taken down a flipping ghost bare-handed and barely batted an eyelash at the blaster injury he'd received from it standing in his place.

Fenton was trying to talk his mom out of treating the blaster wound he had received and insisting that he was fine, Mr. Fenton jumped in a few times and insisted but he continued to brush them off until they finally backed down. It was then that Danny restated his directions from earlier, get a little bit farther down the path before stopping for a break, and continued walking. Dash glanced at the faces of his friends as everyone fell back into step behind their guide, catching looks of disbelief and astonishment that he was certain were mirrored in his own expression.

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

Sam and Aless had succeeded in patching up Nathan and Rory. Kate had managed to scavenge two smooth pieces of metal to use as a splint for Nathans hand while the sports tape Rory had been carrying held it together. Aless tore a piece from her shirt and instructed Rory to hold the water bottle to his head along with the cloth to try and lower the swelling. It's far from perfect but the best that they can do with the resources they have.

"Why are you carrying sports tape anyway?" Aless asked, eyeing the roll as Rory stuffed it back into his pocket.

He smiled in response, flashing rows of perfect white teeth and cutting a dimple in his cheek, "I got used to carrying it around when I was in Track and the habit hasn't left yet."

Aless raised a brow at that but looked mildly interested, which was a step up from her usually unemotional expression. "Well it's a handy thing to have at least, might not want to get rid of that habit once this is all over could save someone's life one day."

Rory was still smiling, surprisingly undisturbed by the morbid way she'd said that. "After all this I'm thinking you might be right."

Nathan stepped up from where he had been sitting a few feet away, still looking shell-shocked from the crash. "T-thank you for this," he held up his bandaged hand and both teens had to repress a grimace at the sight of purpling skin under the haphazard first aid.

Rory's grin brightened again when he returned his attention to Nathan's face but anyone paying close attention could see that it was forced. "No problem man I'm glad to help."

Trev snorted from where he was slouching across from them. He'd been brooding since Sam had told him off an hour ago, giving everyone the cold shoulder. The childish behavior had made the Goth roll her eyes in mild exasperation. Given that he is one of the few uninjured members of their motley crew he could have at least tried to do something productive.

"Of course _you_ would be glad to help. Showing off for the chicks I bet, nobody smiles as much as you in a crap situation like this without having a serious mental issue."

"Better than the guy sitting there and doing nothing," Aless shot back, scowling at the disgruntled jock.

"Says the witch carrying potions around in her bag. Thought that playing pretend went out of style back in elementary school?" Trev sneered.

"At least I'm doing something. What's the matter big strong jock? Is all that muscle too heavy to enable you to get off your lazy butt and help or are you too busy pouting like a five year old to even consider something so beneath you?"

Nathan stared disbelievingly at the goading smirk that had taken over Aless's face (the first real change of expression many of them had ever seen in her) while Rory outright laughed, clutching his head in pain a moment later and forcing himself to suppress his mirth. Trev's face had quickly gone from disgruntled to downright angry. His cheeks burnt crimson; whether it was from embarrassment or anger nobody could really tell, and he opened his mouth to shoot back a reply when Sam's voice suddenly cut through the building argument.

"Almost done Tucker?" Sam asked.

Tucker nodded, "I'm about to start em' up, everyone had better hold onto something."

Trev shot Aless a glare and grabbed onto the rock he'd been sitting on. She responded with a satisfied smile before wrapping her hands around a piece of the Speeder's doorframe, which they had stuck into the ground to provide a handhold for the ride. Rory and Nathan followed her lead, Nathan wrapping his right arm tightly around the pole instead of using both hands. Sam and Kate sat down beside Tucker and took ahold of the remains of the Speeder as he fired up the thrusters, making them all lurch forward uncomfortably before slowing to a languid pace toward the path. The thrusters died when they were about ten feet away, but the rock continued to move.

"Looks like I got the trajectory wrong, this thing is gonna pass right over the path," Tuck said, unhooking his PDA from the Speeder and springing to his feet.

Sam followed and motioned for everyone to stand, "We're all gonna' need to jump!" she said, positioning herself at the edge.

"Are you nuts?" Trev shouted, "there's no way we'll hit that."

Sam's burning violet eyes met his and this time he recoiled slightly, "Follow us or drift endlessly in the Ghost Zone, your choice. Now everyone we all need to jump at the same time, on three!"

Everyone gathered together behind Sam, knees bent expectantly as they waited for her call. "One…two…THREE!"

They all jumped and hit the path as the island they'd been on floated past, the base dragging against rock and leaving a thick scar in the narrow road. Kate screamed as she hit the ground. Sam tucked and rolled. Aless tried to shield Rory from most of the fall while Nathan protectively clutched his hand to his chest. Tucker landed on his hands and knees. Trev face planted into the dirt.

"Everyone alright?" Sam called out once the chaos had passed.

Several voices called out in confirmation while they checked over the injured. Kate scrambled up from where she'd landed at the edge and made her way over to Trev, who was rising onto his hands and knees several feet away. "A-are you alright?" she asked, grabbing his arm and trying to help him to his feet. He jerked out of her grasp and replied with a sharp "Fine" before standing and walking away.

"How's your head?" Aless questioned Rory, lightly brushing her fingers over the bump as she helped him stand.

He flinched at the contact but replied, "Fine, what about you any new injuries?"

"None," she said without taking her eyes off the bump.

Pulling the water bottle from her bag and the scrap of shirt from her pocket she handed both to him and allowed him to lean on her shoulder as he stood. Both made their way over to join the rest of the group in the center of the path.

"Nathan's hand is fine, didn't get jarred in the fall," Tucker called out after inspecting the injury, "anyone got any new aches or pains?" he asked.

Everyone shook their heads and he nodded in return, motioning for them to follow as he turned and started walking down the path. "We need to hurry and start heading to Pandora's it'll be one heck of a walk and we need to meet Danny and the others at the Far Frozen as soon as possible."

"Um…" Kate called out, twiddling her thumbs nervously, "I've heard you mention the Far Frozen a few times…what is it?"

"It's a frozen island on the other side of the Ghost Zone inhabited by an advanced race of yeti people. Their leader, Frostbite, has a soft spot for Danny and I'm sure that he'll give us a lift back to the Fenton Portal," Sam answered.

"Y-yeti people?" Nathan questioned, glancing around nervously as if expecting them to suddenly appear out of thin air.

Tucker laughed and turned to face the nervous teen, "Don't worry Frostbite and his people are the nicest ghosts we know and it's like Sam said they really like Danny so they'll definitely help us out."

Sam chuckled, "Ah, a boy and his snow monster."

"Is there a greater love to be found anywhere?" Tucker added in.

Both teens shared a grin and a short laugh at the inside joke while everyone else just stared at them quizzically. Conversation died down from there and they walked for several minutes in silence before a noise finally broke it.

"Will you be my friend?"

Sam and Tucker whirled around and madly motioned for everyone to hide behind a boulder set off to the side. They all scrambled behind it just as the temperature dropped and a blue-skinned ghost wearing striped pink and white pajamas suddenly appeared on the trail. He glanced around in confusion, almost like he was searching for someone before his eyes landed on the boulder.

He smiled and floated over to their hiding place, peering around it and coming face to face with the familiar Goth. "Will you be my friend?" the ghost asked in his usual high-pitched whiney voice.

Without answering Sam lashed out with her wrist ray, sending the ghost flying backwards. He recovered from the attack and inhaled deeply, only to be cut off as Tucker nailed him with one of the ecto-pistols. Sam followed up with her another shot from her wrist ray while Tuck continued firing. Dazed and fighting a losing battle Klemper haphazardly dodged the attacks and eventually flew away with a cry of panic. Both Sam and Tuck kept their weapons trained on him until he disappeared into the distance.

"What the heck was that!?" Trev shouted as everyone began to cautiously exit from their hiding place.

"Klemper, he always goes around asking people if they want to be his friends."

"W-why didn't you just answer?" Kate asked.

"If you say yes he never leaves and if you say no he tends to get a bit…violent."

All eyes widened at that and suddenly everyone was very grateful to have Sam and Tucker with them.

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

"Mind if I take one of those ecto-guns?" Aless asked Sam a while after they'd gotten back to walking.

The Goth glanced at the blonde out of the corner of her eye, "Can you shoot it?"

Aless grinned, "My family night used to be a trip to the shooting range once a week, show me how to fire it and tell me how hard it kicks and I think I can handle it."

Sam couldn't help but crack a grin at that, "Alright."

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

Upon glancing at Mr. Lancers watch and realizing that it was almost midnight back in Amity Danny finally declared that they had found a suitable resting place for the night. Several people slumped to the ground with exhausted groans, too tired to contemplate the fear and anxiety that they probably should be feeling when sleeping in the Ghost Zone.

Star, Paulina and Cassie all pulled off their shoes and started fussing over their blisters, which Maddie was gracious enough to treat with the first aid kit. Mr. Lancer took a seat parallel to the students and Jack sat down next to him, shooting the teacher a cheerful smile before proceeding to blather on and on about his most recent invention. Lancer was too tired to be exasperated.

Dash and Kwan had collapsed next to the girls and were chattering quietly, shooting glances at Danny periodically during their discussion. Valarie was still hanging out on the fringes of the group, staring off into the endlessly swirling green sky of the Ghost Zone.

"You okay?" Danny asked Mikey, who had moved farthest from the group and was seated on a small rock several feet away from the nearest person.

"O-oh y-yea, fine" the nerd replied.

"Are you sure? You can tell me if your ankle hurts you know and it won't help any if you try and hide it, that'll only make it worse."

Mikey looked away for a moment before glancing back at Danny, who was wearing a look of intense understanding and concern. Swallowing lightly a sheepish grin took over the redheads face, "Well it does hurt a little…" he admitted.

Danny laughed and helped him up, leading him back over to the rest of the group and asking his mom to take a look at the injury before wandering back out to the fringes and facing the path that they were taking. Lancer watched the exchange, momentarily tuning Jack out to marvel at Danny's sudden change in behavior.

When Mr. Lancer had first met Danny at the start of his freshman year he had immediately pegged him as a smart kid. He wasn't perfect but the lowest that he ever gotten was a C and that was a rarity. Daniel Fenton had always been a little shy but he was happy too, that much Lancer could tell whenever he'd happen to see him laughing and joking with his friends as they walked down the hall.

Roughly three months into the school year all that had changed. Danny started coming in late and missing assignments. Lancer gave him detention and extra work both to encourage him to do better and try to help him bring up his rapidly declining grades but it didn't seem to help. He started coming in with dark circles under his eyes and every once in a while Lancer would spot a bruise or a cut under the collar of his shirt or sleeve. Sometimes they would be openly displayed on his face.

The thought of parental abuse had occurred to him and Lancer called the Fenton's in for more than one parent teacher conference to discuss their son's performance. Between getting to know them a bit better and talking to Jazz Lancer determined that they might not be the best parents but they certainly weren't violent. Several theories as to why Danny behaved this way popped into the teachers head: bullying, peer pressure, affiliation in some less than savory occupation, but none of them ever quite fit right in the puzzle that is Danny Fenton.

Thinking of Danny and his friends as ghost hunters made more sense than any of the theories Lancer had been able to come up with but there were still a few unexplained variables. Danny Fenton is obviously very physically fit, which is apparent from both his physique and the way that he moved when he was fighting the ghost earlier. So why is it that he's failing gym?

Miss Tetzlaff constantly complains that Fenton and Foley are her two worst students, yet here Danny is taking flying leaps that are borderline impossible and sprinting with the speed of a professional runner without even breaking a sweat.

Shaking his head Lancer glanced at Danny, who hadn't moved from his place standing in the center of the path, almost like he was staring at something invisible to the rest of them. His shoulders seemed broader and he stood up straight rather than slouching. To Mr. Lancer he looked like a completely different person, someone confident, compassionate, a _leader_.

Lancer's eyes slowly moved to scan the rest of their little group, noticing that he wasn't the only one watching Danny. Maddie had long since finished her work on Mikey and was also staring at her son, Dash and Kwan would occasionally glance up at him as they conversed quietly together, even the girls gave him their attention once in a while (though Lancer suspected that was more to 'appreciate' his new physique than anything).

The dark haired teen suddenly spun around to face everyone and they jumped at the sudden movement from a person who hadn't so much as twitched for the past several minutes.

"Alright you should all get some rest," Danny said, flashing them all a calm smile, "I'll take the first watch"

All bone weary and in no position to argue everyone bobbed their heads in agreement. Jack and Maddie attempted to overrule their son and take first watch themselves but Danny managed to politely turn them down after a great deal of prompting, which they eventually surrendered to.

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCT**

It took about an hour for everyone to fall asleep and once he was sure that they were all out Danny called Sam and Tucker.

"How's it going guys?"

" _As well as can be expected,"_ Tucker replied sounding as tired as Danny felt, _"we just passed Dora's kingdom about an hour ago, we should really go and visit her later, see how she's doing and all."_

" _I second that,"_ Sam added, _"feels like it's been ages since I've seen her."_

" _And here I thought that corny jokes were my forte."_

There was a sudden crackle of static and a voice that sounded like Tucker's shouting _'Ouch!'_ over the line.

" _Anyway we just sat down for the night. As far as improvising medical treatment we've managed to get Nathan's hand in a splint and use some stuff that Aless happened to be carrying to patch up her cut. A cold water bottle and a scrap of cloth are the best we've got for Rory,"_ Sam continued.

"Nice work guys, has anyone had a nervous breakdown yet?"

" _Trev might if he keeps talking back to Sam, I swear she almost tossed him off the path when he asked her how much farther it was gonna be."_

" _That was only after he asked me the third time"_ Sam said innocently, _"Besides if anyone is tossing him off the path it's probably gonna be Aless, she's starting to get annoyed with him too. Didn't help that he blew Kate off after we made it onto the path either."_

" _I saw that, he's getting to be a major pain maybe we should've given him to Klemper."_

"You guys ran into Klemper?"

" _Yea, tried to hide unfortunately he found us and we had to chase him off, didn't even need to use the thermos this time. What about you, manage to sneak past Skulkers without a hitch?"_

"I wish," Danny groaned, running a hand through his hair, "I ended up having to fight him and as if that weren't bad enough I had to borrow Kwan's gym shirt when mine got totaled."

" _Oh man, how'd you explain the scars?"_ Tuck asked.

"They only saw my back and arms, managed to keep my mom from trying to check out the injuries I got fighting Skulker-"

" _You got injured fighting Skulker?"_ Sam interjected, _"where and how bad?"_

Danny chuckled lightly, an elated feeling rising in his chest in response to the concern in her voice. "I'm fine Sam got grazed by some blaster fire and took a double blast from his shoulder cannons to the chest but it didn't do much damage."

" _What damage did it do?"_ she pressed.

He hesitated a moment before replying, "I think I've got a bruised rib or two with minor burns but it's nothing major, probably be gone by the time we get to the Far Frozen."

" _Remind me to blast him with the Fenton Bazooka the next time we see him,"_ Sam said.

" _Dually noted,"_ Tuck replied, _"but for now I guess that we're all right on schedule, where are you guys right now Danny?"_

"Just outside Walker's territory, we've stopped for now and I'm probably gonna set the pace hard tomorrow. After running into Skulker I would rather not have to deal with Walker too."

" _Good call, especially when you can't use your powers."_

"No kidding," Danny replied, "It would majorly reek if I had to break out of Walker's prison again, with a bunch of others and without my ghost powers."

" _Come on, not even you are that unlucky Danny."_

The line fell silent for a few moments.

"… _Did you seriously just say that Tucker?"_ Sam asked.

" _Just trying to be optimistic!"_ He cried out defensively.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "All that optimism probably jinxed me."

" _I wouldn't doubt it,"_ Sam replied dryly, _"but all the same…be careful, I don't want to hear about any more injuries or I might just have to scratch Skulker off my list and shoot you with the Fenton Bazooka instead."_

Danny chuckled at that, "No promises Sam but I'll do my best."

He heard her huff indignantly over the line, _"You don't have to dress those wounds of yours you stupid halfa…"_

" _Uh guys, remember what I said about your PDA short circuiting Sharon? Well there's so much floating around the radio waves that I think it might be disrupting my signal-"_

" _It's the Ghost Zone Tuck you can't even get an outside signal here!"_ Sam shouted.

Danny could only laugh.

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

The next morning Sam and Tuck woke everyone early and had them all moving minutes later. Rory was, unfortunately, still suffering from a concussion and thus got no rest the night prior, he was practically being dragged by Aless and Nathan, who had volunteered to make sure that Rory didn't kill over on their trek to Pandora's Acropolis.

Trev naturally complained the entire way; questioning anything that the two ghost hunting teens (especially Sam) said and did. This didn't earn him any brownie points from either Sam or Aless, who were both ready to chuck him over the side and leave him to the ghost vultures by the time they finally reached their destination.

"Where's this stupid 'magic pathway,'" Trev asked impatiently, glaring at Sam and Tuck as they calmly munched on a pair of sandwiches they'd scavenged from one of the lunchboxes found among the wreckage of the Speeder.

Tuck took his time swallowing before he replied, "For the fifth time Trev it's only supposed to appear from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM human time and it is currently…" green-blue eyes dipped to check the digital clock on his PDA, "…11:56, we still have four minutes left."

Trev scowled and resumed his pacing, glancing up every few seconds like he expected something to have changed. Everyone else was sitting on the path enjoying a meal and trying not to anticipate the appearance of the secret path to the home of the mysterious Pandora, who both Tucker and Sam insisted would be willing to help them.

During their long trek their guides had explained that Pandora was actually the Greek legend and, just like the people of the Far Frozen, had a soft spot for Danny. Trev had asked why all these ghosts seemed so attached to an unassuming nerd that acted as the school punching bag (mostly monopolized by Dash but occasionally borrowed by the other jocks after a particularly bad game) and the air had immediately shifted. Neither of the ghost hunting teens had been willing to say anything after they stated that they had made ghost hunting a hobby and after several failed attempts at prompting an answer out of them, followed by one very graphic death threat from Sam, the conversation died down. A few minutes later Aless started asking Sam a few more questions about Pandora, which led to a discussion about Greek Mythology. Kate eagerly joined in and the tension had disappeared along with the silence.

Nobody had asked any more questions about Danny Fenton's affiliation with the ghost populace but they couldn't deny their curiosity on the subject.

The four minutes dragged by slowly until finally it materialized. Small chunks of floating earth no bigger than a kitchen sink were clustered together to form an unstable looking path that curved toward Pandora's Acropolis. Each piece had at least a foot or two distance between them and some zipped back and forth randomly without any apparent pattern in mind.

Sam groaned, "Why can't it ever be easy?"

"I guess Pandora doesn't want just anyone wandering up to her place huh? The instability of the path must act as a kind of security system to keep any random idiot who just so happens to find it away," Tuck said.

"Even though ghosts can fly and don't need to walk to get around," Aless piped up as she stepped up with Rory and Nathan to stand beside Sam.

Nobody had a response to that one.

"Whatever it's the only option we have anyway," Sam finally said, sticking one foot out to snag the nearest rock. She wavered slightly but managed to shift her weight forward and get a good foothold. Everyone sighed in relief as Sam straightened and glanced back over her shoulder, "It's no big deal, heck of a lot easier than jumping from that floating rock onto the path." The Goth took another jump and landed on another rock a few feet away with hardly a wobble and continued down the unstable path.

"Aless, Rory and Nathan are going to have to be at the back," Tuck said, "I'll be bringing up the rear so Trev and Kate you two are next."

"And why exactly are you hanging back Foley?" Trev asked angrily, glaring down at the techno geek like he had no business giving him orders.

Tucker sighed like an exasperated parent scolding a whining child before drew himself up to his full height which was, to everyone's surprise, a few inches taller than Trev. Throughout the trip Tucker had been calm and slightly comedic, not as much as he usually was but just enough to assure that depression and fear didn't take root in their tiny group.

Now Tucker glared down his nose at Trev and the boy found himself stepping back at the intensity flowing from his blue-green eyes. "I'm staying at the back to help in case Nathan, Aless or Rory slip while their trying to cross. You can either follow Sam or go through Pandora's maze, though I doubt you'd want to meet up with any of the centaur and minotaur ghosts that guard that place. The reason we're taking this way in the first place is because we aren't sure that all of Pandora's guards will recognize us. If you want to risk getting fried by an ecto-blast be my guest but we've wasted enough time listening to your useless complaints, either listen to us or get lost."

With that the dark skinned teen shoved Trev aside and motioned Kate forward. She stared wide-eyed at Tuck for a few moments before glancing at the ever shifting pieces of earth. "A-are you sure it's s-safe?" she asked.

"It's as safe as we can get right now," Tucker answered, "don't worry, just stay with Sam and she'll keep you out of danger."

The smile that he shot her was oddly reassuring and she found herself nodding in spite of the nerves coursing through her veins. Glancing up at Sam, who was impatiently shifting from one rock to the other waiting for the next person to begin crossing, Kate took a deep breath and hopped onto the first stone.

Trev followed after her, still shaken by the intense display of authority by Tucker mere moments ago, with Aless, Nathan, and Rory right behind him and Tuck bringing up the rear. Sam, Kate and Trev moved at a moderate pace with Sam feeling out the safer stones and having the others follow behind her. Aless, Nathan and Rory had to move slower and stumbled more than once because they couldn't always see where their feet were. Tucker would always shoot out a hand to steady them or yank them backwards whenever one of the rocks under their feet started to crumble, which didn't quite stave off their fear but it helped.

They had just reached the marble steps of Pandora's castle when the alarm on Tucker's PDA went off. Eyes widening the techno geek rushed to shove Aless, Nathan and Rory up and onto the steps. They all stumbled off the final rock and made it to safety right as the earth gave way. Tuckers feet flew out from under him and he let out a short scream before managing to snag the edge of the final step, holding onto it for dear life as the endless abyss of the Ghost Zone yawned beneath him.

"Hold on Tucker!" Sam shouted, weaving around the others to get to him.

The marble was hard to grip, too smooth without anything to latch onto, and Tucker felt his hold loosening. His hand slid from the step and he felt gravity take over for a moment as Sam screamed – something latching onto his wrist at the last possible instant. Blue-green met hazel as Trev gripped Tuckers wrist, the other hand clutching the steps as he tried desperately not to be pulled over.

"Grab him!" Trev shouted, "If I try to pull him up on my own we'll both fall."

Both Aless and Sam suddenly appeared at his side and grasped Tucks arm, using their combined strength to pull him up and onto the marble steps. For a few seconds no one spoke until Trev let go of a light chuckle, "Man, thank god these steps are so freakin' huge," he said, "never would have had the leverage to pull you up otherwise."

"Why did you do that?" Tucker asked, "I thought you were ticked that Sam and I have been telling you what to do?"

Trev was silent and seemed to think a moment before responding, "You know, I'm not exactly sure. Ask me when this whole mess is over, maybe I'll have the answer then."

He shot Tuck a wolfish grin and the techno geek couldn't help but smile in turn. "Deal."

From there they all stood and made their way up the steps, wanting to be as far from the edge as possible. Everyone but Sam and Tucker gazed at the grand marble steps and fifty foot tall octastyle Ionic columns with awe as they passed under the entablature and into the portico. Once there Sam stepped forward to knock on the equally enormous wooden doors, which immediately flew open to reveal a giant woman wearing a long golden skirt and a black and yellow tunic. A golden battle helmet rested upon her head with fire the same magenta shade as her long hair burning on top of the gold and black headpiece. In one of her four arms she held a long staph that was illumined in a ghostly blue glow.

"Who dares to disturb me?" She shouted, angry red eyes narrowing on the small group at her feet.

Everyone but Sam and Tucker shrunk back at the malevolence in her voice.

"Pandora?" Sam called.

The giant's piercing glare fell upon the source of the voice and her face softened immediately, a smile taking over her features.

"Sam, Tucker it's so very good to see you," she said then noticing the additional humans asked, "who are your friends?"

The Goth teen smiled and gestured to the less frightened but still cautious group huddled at the edge of the portico, "These are our classmates, there was a small accident and we're kinda' stuck in the Ghost Zone. We came to see if we could get a ride to the Far Frozen."

Pandora nodded in understanding, "I see, well why don't you all come in so that we can talk. You look exhausted."

The Greek ghost turned and swept into her home, leading them past several column shelves housing ancient statues and pottery. Everyone but Sam and Tucker went back to staring. Less than a minute of walking later had them all in a finely furnished sitting room with a long coffee table and a marble chair carved with intricate designs and completed by red satin lining.

"Come and sit down, please tell me more about your predicament."

Several smaller chairs suddenly appeared and the students hesitantly sat down. A pretty servant girl with pale green skin and a plain white peplos suddenly appeared with several cups of tea, setting them gingerly in front of the seven humans before presenting a slightly larger one to her mistress.

"Thank you Ouranós," Pandora said kindly.

The girl inclined her head before scurrying out of the room.

"So tell me Sam what exactly has happened and why isn't Danny with you?"

The Goth teen explained their situation with occasional interruptions from Tucker and Pandora listened intently, nodding thoughtfully when they finished.

"So you wish to borrow one of my carriages in order to meet Danny in the Far Frozen?"

Both Sam and Tuck nodded in confirmation and the Greek ghost smiled, "As if you would even have to ask, I would imagine that you're going to ask Frostbite for a ride to your Portal yes? I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you all again."

The rest of the group cheered while Sam and Tucker smiled happily at Pandora, "Thank you so much for this," Sam said.

Pandora waved her hand dismissively, "Just make sure to come with Danny for a special visit, he comes to see me twice a month already but that hardly seems often enough sometimes. I'll have the carriage ready for you later on today; I hope that you'll make use of my hospitality until then."

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCT**

"Man this is awesome," Nathan said, awed by the various plants growing in Pandora's garden.

"No kidding, are all of these ghost plants?" Kate asked, gesturing to a patch of purple and orange blossoms in front of her. Somewhere in the hour or so that had passed between having tea and wandering the newly planted garden the shy girl had lost her stutter.

Pandora nodded, "I had the Box Ghost gather several plant species from across the Ghost Zone and plant them here, as it turns out he makes a marvelous gardener."

"How's he doing with his service to you anyway?" Sam asked.

The Greek ghost narrowed her eyes in obvious distaste, "He's getting there but after what he did I'm almost convinced that a thousand years of servitude is too light a punishment."

"A thousand years!?" Kate exclaimed, "what the heck did he do?"

Pandora huffed and crossed two of her four arms across her chest, "He stole my most prized possession and used it to wreak havoc on your hometown."

"Seems like a good punishment to me," Trev piped up from where he was loitering near a pair of carnivorous looking flowers.

"Uh Trev I don't think you should be standing there-" Aless started to warn the oblivious boy a split second too late. One of the giant buds closed around his waist, hauling him up and into the air. He let out a scream when he felt his feet leave the ground and turned his terrified eyes to see Sam, Tucker, and Aless all aiming ecto-weapons at him and the crazy ghost plant.

"Ah wait!" he shouted, "don't shoot you might hit me too!"

There was a thud and Trev dropped, hitting the ground with an audible _'oomph'_ before flipping onto his back and crab walking away from the writhing creature.

"Bad plants!" Pandora scolded, having hit the creatures with the end of her staff, "you know better than to attack a guest."

The flower almost seemed to shrivel under her intense glare and if Trev didn't know better he could have sworn that he heard it let out a soft whine before Pandora turned her attention to him. "Forgive me; I have yet to properly train them, they still don't know how to behave."

"N-no problem," he replied, not entirely sure what else to say.

"What's wrong _Trevton_ little tongue-tied talking to a Greek legend?" Aless said as she meandered past him, purposely taking her time and flashing him a wide smirk as she walked.

To everyone's amusement his face flushed at the comment and he glared after her, "Don't call me Trevton!"

Sam chuckled lightly at the exchange and watched as Trev got up to chase after Aless, who was comically dancing just out of his reach with surprising ease for someone wearing leather hiking boots. Trev got tired quickly enough and Aless was declared the unofficial winner of…whatever it was that they'd just participated in. Everyone was too busy laughing to really give a name to it.

"Never thought I'd see them having so much fun in the Zone," Tuck said as he sidled up to stand next to Sam. She nodded in agreement, briefly comparing the happy teens of now to a few hours ago when they were all scared nearly witless by their predicament.

"Did you call Danny by the way?" Tuck asked.

"I thought you did."

Tucker snorted, "That's your privilege as his girlfriend not mine."

The Goth teen scowled at the techno nerd and opened her purple glossed lips to give him a scathing response when there was a sudden call across the garden and Tucker jogged over to answer it, obviously eager to get away from the imminent verbal (and possibly physical) punishment his friend had been about to dish out.

Sam glared after him before moving to the edge of the garden and placing the call. "Danny are you there?"

She frowned when a minute passed with no response and tried again, "Danny…I'll fry you with the Spector Deflector if this is a joke…"

Deep down she knew that Danny would never play a joke like this, not in such a serious situation with people's lives on the line at least, but holding onto the smallest shreds of humor kept the concern building in her gut from overflowing. Another few minutes passed and he still didn't reply, which made the concern turn into a panic that flashed brightly in front of her eyes like an array of sirens.

"Seriously Danny this isn't funny anymore, answer right now or I'm gonna finish killing you when we get back to Fenton Works!" Sam shouted into the receiver, catching the attention of Tucker and the rest of her peers.

The techno geek rushed over to the still-fuming Goth, noticing the spark of true worry in her violet eyes that would have been masked to anyone else by the apparent anger that creased her features.

"What happened?" He asked.

She turned toward him fully, mouth set into a grim line, "I think that we might have a problem…"


	2. Chapter 2

Danny cursed silently under his breath as he scanned the wall of Walkers goons, all holding up enormous shields about the same length as their bodies. They had appeared out of nowhere three seconds after Danny's ghost sense had gone off and boxed them in just as quickly, sliding into the space behind them before the halfa could tell his family and classmates to backtrack.

"Well, well, well," the familiar deep voice penetrated the silence as he appeared at the front of the crowd, a slight smile on his face as he focused on the dark-haired teen, "nice of you to drop in punk."

"Walker," Danny spat.

"Hmmm, real world items, humans in the Ghost Zone, trespassing and harboring a fugitive. All against the rules. I'd say a thousand years per human and another two added to your already impressive total."

Danny took a protective step in front of the group, still glaring at the ghost warden, "They don't have anything to do with this Walker, if you want anyone take me."

Both Jack and Maddie immediately started to protest but were silenced when Danny shot them a quick look over his shoulder. He turned back to find the six foot specter chuckling. "Didn't you just hear me kid? Their trespassing and in possession of illegal contraband, on top of those already grievous offenses _you're_ here…." The guards surrounding them shifted a little closer, making the halfa tense slightly. "….which means that there's no way any of you are gonna' getting away from me."

At that moment the guards descended upon them. The A-listers screamed while Jack, Maddie, and Valarie went for their weapons. Mr. Lancer cried out what sounded like a fractured exclamation of " _War of the Worlds!_ "

Danny dropped into a crouch and spinning hook kicked the closest ghost, sending him and about five more specters flying via the domino effect before turning and kicking another in the chest. A baton came swinging at the back of his head and he grabbed the assailant's wrist, heaving the guard over his head and sending him tumbling into another three, all of which collapsed in a heap on the ground.

A sudden shriek had him turning to see that one of the guards had grabbed Paulina. Breaking away from the pack that had surrounded him Danny made to run for her and got blindsided by a baton to the back of his skull. Grunting in pain the half-ghost slid away just as another strike came down and he struggled to his feet, punching the specter in the face before swinging back around to try and save the A-list drama queen.

The moment he turned away there was another strike to the back of his head. This one had him face planting into the ground. Before he could jump up and retaliate a half dozen ghost bodies dog piled him, roughly yanking his wrists behind his back and sitting on his legs to make sure that they were immobile. Deep laughter roared in his ears as Walker knelt down in front of him, "Looks like you'll be joining me in my prison after all ghost boy."

"Thought you'd already made Amity my prison," Danny growled out as he was hauled to his feet.

"That was before you decided to enter my domain again punk, and they-" Walker jerked his thumb at the others, who had also been captured and were being led away by the rest of the guards "-will be serving out their sentences with you."

As Danny opened his mouth to protest a sharp blow landed at the base of his skull and the world instantly turned black.

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

When Valarie woke up she discovered that she was in some kind of cage with electric bars surrounding the perimeter. They all glowed with a strange green energy that reminded her vaguely of Phantom's energy blasts.

The ghost huntress tentatively stood, glancing around to find all her classmates, teacher, and the Fenton parents also in the cage. None of them had yet to wake, though they all looked unharmed. Shaking her head Valarie tried to recall what exactly had happened and got flashes of a wall of ghost police wearing riot gear.

' _That's right we were walking and suddenly got surrounded…I remember shooting several of them before…'_

Feeling around through her thick black locks she winced when she found the bump and felt her frown turn into a scowl. _'Those filthy spooks knocked me out!'_

She instinctively reached for one of her weapons, ready to reduce the first ectoplasmic object she saw to dust, and her hand closed on air. Blinking in confusion she glanced down to realize that her backpack – and therefore her ghost hunting equipment – was gone, making her nearly defenseless at the hands of any ghost that decided to pick a fight with her.

"Oh great," she grumbled, "stuck out in the Ghost Zone without any weapons, how wonderful…"

A groan suddenly sounded off to her right and she turned to see Mrs. Fenton sitting up from where she was laying, glancing around in a daze for a moment before standing. "What happened?" the elder ghost huntress asked as Valarie moved to help her, keeping a gentle hand on her elbow to make certain that she wouldn't collapse.

"Looks like we've been captured," Valarie answered.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Looks like they're all here, unconscious but unharmed-"

Valarie's brows drew together as her eyes once more swept over the unconscious bodies, noticing that one was in fact missing. "Danny" she whispered, "he's not here…"

"What!" Maddie exclaimed, breaking away from the teen ghost huntress's grip to survey the room. Her violet eyes were wide in alarm as she confirmed that the girl was right and her son was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?" She asked as she continued turning, almost like she expected him to be hiding in one of the corners of their prison.

Valarie could only shrug apologetically, "I just woke up a few seconds ago…"

Maddie let out an exasperated sigh and walked quickly to where her husband was laying, ignoring his mutterings about ghosts in favor of shaking him. "Jack wake up!" she said, shaking him a bit harder, "Danny's missing."

The Fenton father's eyes cracked open and he slowly sat up, focusing on his wife. "Maddie? What happened?"

"We got captured by those ghost police, everyone's here but Danny, we've got to find him and-"

"I wouldn't bet on it if I were you."

All three ghost hunters turned to face one of the guards, who was smirking at them from the other side of the bars. Maddie's eyes narrowed, "And why is that?"

"He's getting some… _special_ attention from Walker, he is a noted convict after all and he needs to be reeducated."

Both Jack and Maddie seemed angered by the comment but Valerie, barely reigning in her own anger, said: "What do you mean 'noted convict'?"

The ghost guard laughed, "The boy needs to serve time for two counts of bringing unauthorized human contraband into the Ghost Zone, two counts of bringing unauthorized humans into the Ghost zone, aiding in the escape of a prisoner, causing a disturbance within the prison and releasing convicts as well as escaping himself. He really has a lot to answer for actually."

By now Lancer and half the A-listers had woken and were staring incredulously at the guard as he spoke, hardly believing that Danny Fenton - Casper's resident freak and nerd – could wrack up such an extensive record. Lancer's surprise was slightly softened after everything he'd seen upon entering the Ghost Zone and he found himself thinking, only half-jokingly, that Danny had a worse track record in the ghost world then he did in theirs.

Maddie and Jack were as surprised as they looked, slightly thrown at the image of their son being involved with more than just the mechanical ghost they'd run into earlier despite the fact that they should have expected as much. Valarie was equally as surprised.

The silence was suddenly broken by a scream that was cut off just as abruptly, almost like someone had caught it before it was fully formed. The guards smirk widened, "Looks like Walker has started the punishment."

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCT**

Danny had woken up strapped to a table with glowing green restraints around his wrists and ankles. He could feel the strange vibration of energy flowing through them and had tried using his humanity to phase through the bonds only to receive a sudden shock. A scream started to tear through his throat but he stopped it short, forcing his body to relax and feeling slightly relieved when the electronic charge died down.

"Good try punk," the half-ghost glanced to his left to see Walker appear, "but those restraints are charged with live ecto-electricity, I wouldn't recommend trying to break them as either a human or ghost."

A guard appeared beside Walker and left the metal table he'd been wheeling beside the warden, who didn't even acknowledge him as he quickly saluted and flew back out the door. Danny narrowed his eyes at the specter as he walked calmly over to the table and plucked a scalpel from its metallic surface, making a show of running his gloved hand over the blade before holding it directly in front of the halfa's pupil, so close that it could have sliced off an eyelash if Danny had blinked.

"I'm not gonna beat around the bush ghost boy; I owe you for releasing all my prisoners. While it was satisfying to make your hometown your own prison it never did replace the pleasure of making you pay personally."

With a cruel smirk Walker suddenly whipped the blade toward his exposed arm, cutting a shallow wound into the exposed flesh. Danny didn't even flinch, he'd had worse and Walker looked a bit angry that his intimidation tactic hadn't worked. The half-ghost smirked mockingly at the warden and received a hard backhand to the face in return, making his head snap to the side and the restraints crackle at the movement.

Walker chuckled, "Did I forget to mention that any movement on your part sets these babies off?"

"Might've left that part out…" Danny muttered as he turned to face the warden, a noticeable line of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

A fist to his gut made the halfa winch and twitch his arms in an instinctual need to defend himself, which only set off the electricity in the restraints. After several minutes of merely smacking the ghost boy senseless Walker took a step back and cranked up the restraints, making electricity crackle through them without him moving. Danny gritted his teeth to silence the cry that built up in his throat as his body recoiled from the energy pumping through his veins. Walker watched with a satisfied smirk on his face as the halfa convulsed and thrashed, feeling rather accomplished at getting true physical revenge on his worst prisoner.

Danny's eyes suddenly snapped open, burning a bright green as a blue ring appeared around his waist and split into two halves that traveled in opposing directions up and down the teenager's body. Blue jeans, tennis shoes and white T-shirt changed into a white and black jumpsuit while his black hair became a startling white.

Both his gloved hands lit up green and he screamed as they flared, breaking the restraints around his wrists. Turning his attention to Walker the halfa teen angled his palms toward him and let loose another energy beam, which hit the specter in the center of the chest and sent him flying back into the wall.

A guard burst through the door and the warden started shouting for him to shoot while Phantom took out the restraints on his ankles and stumbled away from the vertical table, grabbing the rolling table for balance as the guard took aim. The ghost boy fired another energy blast, which knocked the guard back into Walker. The warden had been in the process of getting up when the guard hit him and ended up flat on his back with the guard on top of him.

Phantom took the opportunity to nail them with an ice blast, which froze both ghosts solid. In the aftermath of the battle the halfa took a few moments to regain his bearings before walking to the door and closing it tightly behind him. Hopefully nobody would notice that he was missing for quite a while but he melted the door handle with an ecto-blast just in case.

With that done Phantom glanced back and forth down both ends of the hallway, noticing that no one was around and deciding to take the left path. It dropped off into a T-shaped hallway and the halfa cautiously glanced down both corridors before confirming that they were empty and, once again, choosing the left path. It wasn't long until he found himself in the familiar block of cells that he'd been imprisoned in the last time he'd been there. The majority of the cells were empty, which made him guess that it was lunch time.

' _Perfect'_ he thought gratefully, walking around the corner and making his way past the rows and rows of empty bars toward the guard tower. It was placed at the center of the room, evidentially Walker had made extensive renovations since the last time he was here, and Phantom kept a careful eye on the large windows as well as the empty hallways, expecting a guard to suddenly appear and sound the alarm.

Just as Phantom was beginning to believe that lady luck had finally decided to cut him some slack a group of five guards suddenly rounded the corner. The easy conversation that they'd been having ceased immediately and a few silent seconds later they whipped out their weapons shouting out the standard _"Freeze and put your hands in the air-"_

Phantom hadn't let them finish. He shot a volley of ecto-energy blasts, which some blocked with counter fire while others dove back around the corner for cover. Those that hadn't been smart enough to do the latter were quickly downed by the halfa and he hastily erected an ecto-energy shield to protect himself from the return fire.

He whispered a curse under his breath and glanced up at the guard station, watching as the four guards that had previously been out of view came rushing to see the commotion. One of them must've hit the alarm because a loud shriek echoed through the prison, red lights flashing to alert all the guards in the building that a prisoner was attempting to escape.

Ditching the ecto-energy shield Phantom made a beeline for the guard station, dodging the ecto-fire peppering the ground behind him as he ran. The halfa teen threw the door open and bolted up the stairs, rushing into the room and dropping to the ground as three ghosts turned their weapons on him. Phantom managed to take one out with a well-aimed ecto-energy blast to the chin, which sent the ghoul reeling back into one of the control panels, effectively disrupting whatever the forth ghost had been typing. The other two kept firing while Phantom ran around the room, eventually managing to get close enough to lunge at one of the guards and tackle him to the ground. Using the guard as a shield the ghost teen snagged his weapon and fired, a bit surprised when a green beam of energy shot out and nailed one of the other's in the chest, sending him spiraling across the room and into the remaining guard, who had abandoned the computer and continued firing even after Phantom had tackled his co-worker.

A quick blast to the back of the guard he was holding hostage was enough to knock the ghoul unconscious.

Unfortunately the guard he'd knocked down earlier had gotten to his feet again and managed to nail the halfa teen in the shoulder with his weapon before the ghost boy had a chance to dodge. The shot burnt through his suit, making the white haired teen hiss painfully before managing to return fire. Once he was down Phantom made a grab for another weapon, one that looked similar but wasn't quite the same as the one that he'd used on the earlier guard, and aimed it at the still-standing ghost. One shot later and the guard was restrained with a familiar cord of green energy. Using the same weapon the half-ghost restrained the other three, who looked unconscious but he wasn't taking any chances, before letting a sigh escape his parted lips.

"What did Walker change his training style or something?" Phantom muttered, "These guys were a lot weaker last time…weapons are different too."

Putting that thought aside for later the halfa rushed to close the door and melt the handle before making his way over to the controls. He glanced around at the complicated assortment of switches and dials, briefly wondering why it was that he'd thought it would be a good idea to come here before he noticed the security cameras. He let out a relieved breath when he saw that everyone was alright or at least that they looked alright. Walker had put them all in a lone room with electrified bars around the cage that they were trapped in; he really wasn't taking any chances with humans escaping this time.

Briefly glancing at the map of the prison posted below the security cameras Phantom almost smacked himself. _'I would have found them if I'd only gone right instead of left!'_ Feeling slightly exasperated Phantom was about to rush back down the stairs when a thought occurred to him, walking back inside the halfa switched off the security system. The flashing red lights and earsplitting alarm shut off and with another flick of a few dozen switches all the prison doors flew open, releasing the few remaining prisoners to tangle with the guards who had rushed to respond to the alarm while Phantom smashed out one of the observation windows and backtracked.

Once he made it to his destination he peered around the corner and found a total of five guards standing around the cage. A few well-aimed ecto-energy blasts took out two but the remaining three rushed to respond, shooting at the corridor to try and nail whoever had taken down their comrades. Phantom stepped into their line of fire and dodged to the side, rushing the closest ghost. Dipping under the muzzle of the gun Phantom punched the guard in the jaw, sending him spiraling back into the electrified bars of the cage. The sickening sizzle that resulted was completely drowned out as the guard screamed and slumped to the floor.

The remaining two charged at the ghost boy, one lunged as if trying to hit the teen with the base of his weapon but Phantom sidestepped and grabbed it, wrenching it out of the guards grip before hitting him in the gut with it. The guard doubled over in pain and clutched his stomach, giving the white haired ghost a chance to nail him in the back of the head with his own weapon. The final guard had pulled short on his charge and gone back to shooting. Phantom danced away, returning fire with his own weapon. The halfa's shots were much more haphazard than the guards, the pain in his arm was making it difficult to aim correctly, and it wasn't long until the guard shot the weapon from his hands. Phantom hastily created an ecto-energy shield and the guard's ammo pelted the swirling green surface.

Thinking quickly Phantom dropped to the ground and rolled away, pulling the restraint device that he'd taken from the guard tower out of his belt and firing as he slid to his feet. The guard had seen the shot coming too late and hadn't been able to dodge as the glowing green cord wrapped around him, making him fall to the ground with an angry grunt. Phantom restrained the other four and twirled the weapon between his fingers smugly, flashing the guards a contented smirk.

"No need to get up fellas, don't worry I've got it."

Pressing a rather large and obvious button near the door the electric bars dropped. "Follow me," Phantom called, motioning for them to come with him as he ran out into the corridor.

"Why should we follow you?" Maddie asked.

Phantom's eyes narrowed in annoyance as he turned back to her, "Because I'm your best and only chance of getting out of here, now stuff your ghost prejudice to the back of the closet for now and stay behind me."

The ghost huntress looked startled and blinked twice before letting a scowl fall into place, "What about my son?"

Phantom's eyes seemed to soften at that, "He's already out, escaped with a friend of mine."

Without any more explanation he turned and started fast-walking around corners, everyone else followed after him and Maddie hastily called out, "Is he alright? Hurt? The guard said-"

"Talk later, escape _now_ ," Phantom responded, not breaking stride as he led them out of the ghost prison.

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

They were walking down a deserted corridor when they came upon a heavy door built into the wall. It wasn't the door that made Phantom stop but the person that he saw sitting in the cell. "Wulf!" he exclaimed, rushing forward and clutching the bars in both hands. The hairy wolf-like ghost's head snapped up at the sound of his name and a fanged grin appeared on his face. "Mia amiko!" he called, rushing to the bars.

"Walker kaptis vin denove?" _Walker caught you again?_ Phantom asked in Esperanto.

The wolf-ghost nodded, "Kiam mi revenis al la Fantomo Zono monatojn post mia lasta vidis vin." _When I returned to the Ghost Zone months after I last saw you._

"Nu, ne maltrankviliĝu, mi gonna eliru el tie." _Well don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of here._

Phantom stepped back and shot out the lock, being tackled by Wulf the moment he threw the door open. The wolf ghost's tongue came out to lap at his friend's face and Phantom laughed lightly at the contact.

"Feliĉa vidi vin Wulf sed ni bezonos akiri movanta, mi ne certas kiel longe ĝi estos ĝis Walker kaj liaj gardistoj venis post ni." _Happy to see you too Wulf but we need to get moving, I'm not sure how long it'll be until Walker and his guards come after us._

When he managed to get the affectionate creature off him and rise to a standing position Phantom noticed that everyone was glancing between him and Wulf, looking apprehensive at the sudden appearance of the odd ghost.

"I'll introduce you later, for now we've gotta' go."

Turning again Phantom led them all out of the Prison. At one point they met up with a pack of prisoners who were also making for the exit. Apparently the riot had escalated just as Danny had hoped it would. Once they reached the doors Phantom stopped and faced the prison.

"Everyone stay back!" he shouted, "Time to bring this straw house tumbling down."

He inhaled a deep gulp of air and let it out as a ghostly wail. The sound waves fractured the walls and made them collapse in on themselves, tearing the entire structure down in a matter of seconds. When the attack died down Phantom slumped, breathing raggedly and placing his hands on his knees to try and catch his breath.

"Let's…see you…rebuild that…Walker," he said between pants, turning back to his stunned classmates and parents.

"We should keep moving," Phantom said, brushing past them to continue toward the edge of the island that Walker's prison rested on. "Everyone stand on the edge, I'll use it to help get you back on the path."

The A-listers were quick to follow his instructions, all shock gone in favor of ogling their favorite hero. Lancer was slightly more hesitant but did as was asked of him anyway, which led Mikey to quickly follow as well though he looked nervous. The Fenton's and Valarie took a bit more prompting, especially when they realized that they would be riding with a ghost wolf. But eventually they all did as he asked and one well-placed ecto-energy blast later they were floating toward the path, exiting their makeshift transport once Phantom deemed that it was safely moored.

Once they were back on the path Phantom turned to face them and found himself almost nose to nose with a furious Maddie Fenton.

"Where is my son?" She demanded, clutching the Fenton saber threateningly in her left hand.

Phantom took a step back holding both hands out passively, "Already home, I had a friend of mine take him there while I came for you guys."

"A friend of yours? A ghost friend? How do we know that you and your so called _friend_ haven't kidnapped him or worse killed-"

"I wouldn't do that," Phantom interrupted her, "I promise you that your son is safe and if you want to see him soon I suggest that we get going."

Maddie worked her jaw angrily, drawing up a blank when she tried to think of a reply. Luckily Valarie did it for her. "Why should we follow you!" she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him, "You're a ghost, you could be lying to us trying to lure us into a false sense of security so you can-"

"-perform some kind of dastardly ghostly act after rescuing you from Walker's prison at the risk of my own neck? Because that makes _so_ much sense," Phantom interjected with a roll of his eyes.

This seemed to throw the ghost hunting teenager for a moment, though a quick glance at Wulf had her jabbing a finger in his direction, "You were probably just there to rescue him!"

Phantom glanced at Wulf, who was looking pretty confused with the entire situation.

"I had no idea Wulf was in there when I went in," Phantom said with a shrug.

"…Wulf?" Mikey questioned tentatively from behind Valarie.

Phantom suddenly brightened, "Ah that's right I haven't introduced you. Everyone this is my friend Wulf."

"Wulf tiuj estas miaj amikoj de la homa mondo." _Wulf these are my friends from the human world._

The wolf ghost blinked in understanding but didn't seem very forthcoming as far as a greeting was concerned, though he did try and smile. It came out as a grimace and half the people who received it took a wary step back.

"…What is that language you two keep speaking?" Maddie asked after brief hesitation, not taking her eyes off Wulf.

Phantom rubbed the back of his neck, "Esperanto, old 18th century language that isn't used much anymore. It's the only language Wulf can speak."

Silence reigned after that and Phantom cleared his throat awkwardly before turning to the path, "Anyway we should probably keep moving…follow me."

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCT**

"So tell me again why we're bringing that…ghost with us?" Maddie asked, eyeing Wulf as he walked beside Phantom on the path.

"We need to get the collar around his neck off and the only person I know that can do that is in the Far Frozen."

"Uh-huh" she replied, "And what exactly is this 'Far Frozen' place anyway? I heard Danny talking about it too but he never explained it."

Everyone had been keenly tuned into the conversation, wondering the same things themselves but not having the courage to ask. Phantom answered without turning around, "It's the home of a race of ghost yeti's with advanced technology. Their medicine is top of the notch and they should have a few vehicles that you can use to get home."

Nobody was in the least bit surprised to hear this, although a few people did pale at the mention of yeti ghosts. Another few minutes of silence ensued before Paulina made her way to the front of the group and tapped on Phantom's shoulder, he turned to face her.

"Nice to finally get to talk to you again Phantom," she said, batting her eyelashes in a seductive way designed to make any male melt at her feet, "Maybe we could meet up after all this is over and…hang out?"

Valarie watched the spectacle with barely contained nausea while Lancer and a few of the other A-listers rolled their eyes. Pretty much everyone but the Fenton's had seen this coming and the ghost hunting couple were getting ready to intervene – no innocent teen is gonna get hypnotized by ectoplasmic scum on their watches! – When Phantom suddenly gave her a forced looking smile. "Uh…nice of you to ask but I'm afraid that I'm too…busy for things like that."

With that he faced front again, leaving a dumbstruck Paulina and a rather amused bunch of teenagers. Even Valarie couldn't help but crack a smile at the impressive rejection.

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Sam tapped her foot impatiently as they all loaded onto one of Pandora's larger carriages (one that was probably designed to carry something a lot bigger than they were) anxiously staring at the swirling green sky of the Ghost Zone as if it were somehow the cause of all this. In a way it was.

Tucker walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her turn to face him. "Everyone's all loaded up, any word?"

She shook her head, scowl deepening. They hadn't heard anything from Danny for a while now and were getting increasingly worried. He would never forget to check in with them if he could help it.

"I'm sure he's alright, he always is," Tuck reassured, "probably already at the Far Frozen wondering why we haven't shown up yet."

"He would have shown up after us no matter what and they were heading past Walker's prison, what if they got caught? It's actually more than likely that crazy warden has them and after what he did to Danny last time who knows what-"

"Sam," Tucker said sternly, "this is Danny we're talking about, he's can take care of himself."

The Goth teen snorted at that, giving her techno geek friend a half smile, "Probably not as well as he should."

Tucker had to agree with that one and chuckled lightly at the joke before steering her toward the carriage. Pandora was standing beside it waiting for them both to board. The two friends stopped in front of her before they got on, thanking her once more for her help.

"No trouble at all" she replied, "Give my regards to Frostbite and Danny when you see them and make sure to come back for an extensive visit just like you promised."

They smiled at the Greek ghost and agreed before getting on the royally decorated carriage. Pandora had apparently selected her four best horses – black stallions with burning red eyes and black flames in place of a mane and tail – for the ride. The inside surface of the chariot looked to be made of wood but was soft to the touch while the outside was metal plated gold. Golden reigns and bridles attached the horses to the vehicle, the reigns dangling uselessly at the crest of the cart several feet above their heads. Apparently Pandora trusted her horses to navigate themselves, though with the threat of her retribution none of them probably would have strayed regardless.

The regal vehicle lurched as it disconnected from the edge of Pandora's acropolis and everyone waved until the four armed giant was a speck in the distance.

"Man," Trev said, finally sliding down to a sitting position, "this is one field trip I'll never forget."

"You're telling me," Kate giggled as she slid down to sit next to him, "this is the best field trip I've ever been on!"

"Same here," Aless replied, leaning against the wall, "and to think I was considering not coming."

Rory raised an eyebrow at that, "Are you nuts? Who wouldn't want to come to the Ghost Zone?"

Aless snorted, "Some would tell you that nobody who wanted to keep breathing would come here, but after seeing the place I'd have to say that my opinion has changed."

"Especially after meeting Pandora," Kate added, "after seeing her I'm not as afraid of ghosts as I was before."

"Speak for yourself," Trev said pretending to shiver.

They all laughed at that. Aless gently shoved Trev, who grinned back at her before kicking at her foot. She danced out of the way and vowed vengeance later, a challenge he met with a very mature: "Bring it on Dorothy."

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

They had been traveling for a grand total of ten minutes when a portal suddenly opened above them and a person fell through, landing with an _'oomph!'_ dead smack in the center of the carriage. Aless had shoved Rory and Kate behind her an instant later, training the ecto-pistol on the figure while everyone else froze.

"That hurt…" the girl said, rising onto her feet while she rubbed the bump forming on her head.

"Wait a minute…Danielle?" Sam said.

The girl's head snapped in the direction she'd heard her name and she grinned widely, shooting up from where she'd fallen to float in front of the Goth teen. "Sam! It's so good to see you again! You too Tucker" she added when she noticed him standing to Sam's left.

Dani glanced around a bit before turning her attention back to the two friends, "Where's Danny?"

Sam and Tuck grew silent a moment before they pulled the ghost girl to the side, motioning for everyone else to stay back as the spoke to the little girl in hushed whispers, explaining how they came to be there and everything that had happened so far.

"So you're supposed to be meeting him in the Far Frozen but he's not picking up when you call?"

Tucker nodded, "Exactly."

Dani seemed to mull over that a moment before smiling, "I wouldn't be too worried. Danny's resourceful I doubt he's found any trouble he couldn't handle or he'd have found a way to contact you."

The confidence in her tone helped to lessen their worry if only slightly but they still shared a nervous glance a moment before nodding.

"On another note I think that I'll stick with you guys, as you probably just saw I'm here because I got a little too close to a natural portal. I gotta' get out and keep going with my personal world tour, and I haven't seen Danny in a while it would be nice to talk to him again."

Tucker nodded, "It would also be a big help to have you here, give us some backup with any ghosts that might attack and all."

As if on cue the Box Ghost suddenly appeared at the open end of the carriage, screaming "BEWARE!" and getting a few words into his usual monologue before Dani sent him flying with a casually tossed ecto-blast.

"What, no rolled up newspaper this time?" Rory asked making everyone dissolve into fits of uncontrollable laughter as they remembered the day that Lancer had fended off the Box Ghost with a rolled up copy of _Amity Today_ when the shoebox flinging felon had attempted to disrupt his English class.

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Adrenaline from the prison break faded fast and it wasn't long before people started complaining again, most notably Paulina and Cassie (with Star, Dash and Kwan throwing the occasional quip though they were less rude then they had been when Danny Fenton was leading). But even with all that complaining Phantom didn't slow down for hours, stopping only once for a brief five minute break during which he relieved Mr. Fenton of carrying the still-injured Mikey, much to the older man's hesitation.

At the moment they'd stopped for the night and nearly everyone had collapsed the instant they'd sat down. Even Wulf had fallen asleep rather quickly, curled up in a tight ball at the fringes of the group closest to where Phantom was standing watch. The ghost teen hadn't gotten much rest in the past two days (being knocked out by Walker and his goons didn't count) and wanted nothing more than to lay down and let sleep claim him but if he did that there would be no one to stand guard.

Phantom was confident that he could retain his ghost form while he slept, three years of practice had helped him with that. But he didn't want to tempt whatever fate might await him when he woke up, who knows what his mom is carrying in that utility belt after all. An involuntary shiver went up his spine as examination tables and high-tech ghost dissection equipment came to mind. Wouldn't put it past them. The ghost hero still couldn't quite figure out why his mother's utility belt had been the only thing Walker failed to confiscate.

It was near four in the morning, according to Mr. Lancer's watch, when Phantom heard the roar of a vehicle in the distance. Swearing under his breath the ghost teen sounded the alarm, shouting as loud as he dared for them all to wake up. Maddie, Jack, Valarie, Lancer, and Mikey got up right away while the others had to be poked and prodded a bit more before they could be convinced to move.

The white haired teen had just positioned himself in front of the still half-asleep group when the motorcycle pulled up in front of them, the rider revving the engine in greeting. Phantom visibly relaxed when a grey-faced teen peered over the handlebars with a half smirk plastered on his face. The halfa started walking toward the bike as the rider dismounted and met him halfway.

"Good to see you Johnny, been a while."

"Not too long I think…at least not since my last spat with Kitty."

"So I guess that means you aren't here to ask for advice like last time. Hopefully not in the mood for a friendly sparring match either?" Phantom asked.

The biker seemed to think about it for a moment, eyeing Phantom up and down before finally saying: "Naw I don't think so. Looks like you've been to Pariah's Keep and back today, wanna' spill?"

Phantom rubbed the back of his neck before running his hand roughly through his pearly locks, a sigh falling from his lips. "Met up with Skulker two days ago, Walker yesterday, neither of them were very nice."

Johnny let out a low whistle and leaned against his bike, "That's rough man, I feel for you. To be honest Walker's kinda been on the warpath since you kicked his butt last time. As for Skulker…"

"Him and Ember at it again?"

Johnny nodded, "Kitty was tellin' me about it, apparently she said he wasn't that great of a hunter again. Something about him going ballistic and searching his entire island just to find the TV remote and it being between the cushions of the couch…"

Phantom groaned, "He attacked me for that?"

"You know how it is man; I personally don't think he can help himself."

"No kidding."

"Where's your girl and that nerd by the way? Rare to see you without em'."

Phantom's glowing emerald eyes flicked back to his group for a moment before returning to Johnny, "Got separated," he replied trying to soften is tone so that the rest of the group couldn't hear, "not exactly under ideal circumstances right now Johnny."

"I should say so, but you at least have some pretty things to look at while you're hoofing it," Johnny replied, making a point of looking over Phantom's shoulder to check out the ladies of the group.

The halfa frowned, "Keep talking like that and Kitty's gonna skin you alive."

"Like she'll ever find out."

"She always finds out Johnny, remember the last time she found out?"

The biker cringed as he remembered the particularly horrible incident, "Point taken and thanks for the advice you gave me, really helped out."

"Yea, no problem and sorry to cut the conversation short but we've gotta' get moving. Nice talking to you though, say hi to Kitty for me."

Johnny smiled and hopped back onto his bike, "No problem dude, have fun gettin' outta the Zone in one piece."

With that the ghost rider revved his bike one more time before taking off, nearly splattering Dash and Kwan across the pavement as he flew past them.

"Wasn't that Jazz's old boyfriend?" Jack inquired.

"Now that you mention it he did look like him didn't he?" Maddie replied, narrowing her eyes at the disappearing figure already a mere speck in the distance.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence," Phantom said, already several steps down the path with Wulf trailing behind him.

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The carriage came to a stop at the entrance to the Far Frozen. One look at the mouth of the cave, which spanned about a hundred feet both vertically and horizontally, and the smiles disappeared from everyone's faces. They all hesitated to leave the carriage but ended up doing it anyway. Kate was the last one off and it took considerable prompting to get her to step down from the luxurious wooden ride into the knee-high snow but she managed it. The instant that her weight disappeared from the vehicle the horses shot off back toward Pandora's acropolis. Everyone watched as they vanished into the swirling green of the Ghost Zone.

"So how far exactly do we have to walk?" Trev asked, eyeing the snow covered ground that spanned before them in a slow descent that disappeared into darkness further down.

"A while," Tuck answered, "last time we were here we had the Speeder so I'm not sure how long it'll take…"

"Well that's just great," Trev said, sounding exasperated, "what are we gonna do about freezing to death?"

"Probably lose a few toes but I think we can make it," Aless called out. She was standing furthest into the cave, next to Rory and Nathan who both shot her strange looks. Nobody could tell if she was kidding.

"I kinda like my feet in tact thanks," Rory responded.

"That's also pretty easy for you to say Dorothy considering that you've got those heavy boots and jacket," Trev piped up.

Aless lifted her feet from the snow, revealing her ankle-high leather hiking boots while fingering her thin jean jacket.

"Other than being waterproof these aren't much better at keeping out the cold than your tennis shoes," She replied, staring pointedly at where Trev's khaki's disappeared into the snow. The hazel eyed jock glared at her in return while she merely stared back, looking as expressionless as ever.

"I think that we should get going," Tucker quickly intervened, taking everyone's attention away from the developing conflict, "Dani can go on ahead and talk to Frostbite. He'll send some shuttles to come and get us but it'd probably be best to cover some distance and do something useful while we wait for them."

Sam quickly agreed and the others reluctantly followed their guides, beginning the long trek toward the heart of the Far Frozen. Dani disappeared into the distance in under a minute, which was both a relief and a new form of concern for the members of the weary group.

Rory had managed to recover a bit of stamina and no longer needed to rely on Lex and Nathan to walk though he did stumble occasionally on a random piece of ice or rock hidden under the snow. Nathan, being as clumsy as he is, tripped over considerably more unseen obstacles than Rory and everyone else combined. At one point Aless took it upon herself to walk in front of him out of concern for him falling and further injuring his broken hand.

Sam and Tuck had the easiest time, being used to maneuvering through the thick snow that comes almost standard in the Far Frozen. The Goth teen still had the advantage with her thick combat boots and excellent physical condition though. About half an hour into their hike Kate started to slow down. She had long since found it necessary to walk behind Trev to try and keep from mashing her toes against anything. Of the members of the group she was wearing the lightest footwear, a pair of bubblegum pink ballet flats and black tights that were predictably soaked through from the cold.

"Sam can we take a quick break?" Aless suddenly asked.

"We need to cover as much ground as possible, can't really afford to stop."

"Just for a minute," she insisted.

The Goth bit down lightly on her lip as she stared at the blonde, who looked back earnestly. Given that she hadn't complained for the duration of the trip Sam found herself nodding and Aless promptly thanked her before stopping Nathan and making her way back to Kate, who was shivering violently where she stood behind Trev.

"Sit down, Aless said, spreading her jacket on the snow before pushing the shivering girl down and lifting her soaked legs. Without any warning Aless took off the ballet flats and tore the stockings, making Kate gasp out in surprise an instant before Aless lifted her own foot and started to untie her hiking boots.

Everyone watched as she slipped off her sock and put it on Kate's foot before slipping the boot on the same way. "Good we're the same size…" the blonde muttered as she did the same to Kate's other foot, slipping on the discarded ballet flats once she was done.

"Try not to lose them and sorry that they might be a bit uncomfortable but I haven't managed to completely break them in yet," She grabbed Kate's hand and pulled her to her feet before taking her jacket from the ground and brushing the snow off.

Everybody watched as Aless moved to stand back in front of Nathan, giving another quick thanks to Sam. The Goth teen simply nodded and told everyone to keep moving, which they complied to. Ten minutes later Trev had given Kate his football jacket, which she accepted after heavy protest with a red face. Aless had offered Sam her jacket but the Goth had declined even after Aless stated that someone wearing a long sleeved shirt would fare better than someone with a tank top. Rory, going along with the sudden trend of chivalry, even offered to give Aless his shoes when he noticed her shivering but she just laughed it off and told him to save it for himself.

They had walked for a total of an hour before the cold started to set in. Sam had long since tucked her hands under her armpits in an attempt to keep warmth while Aless could barely feel her feet and Rory was trying to suppress the chills running up and down his spine. Kate was faring well and occasionally tried to get Trev to take his jacket back but he always declined with a fake smile. Tucker and Nathan were both wearing long sleeved shirts and good shoes but still felt the sting of the cold just as well as everyone else.

Luckily Frostbites shuttles appeared shortly thereafter and the great ice king himself was the first to hop out of the head vehicle with Dani flying at his shoulder.

"Lady Sam and Sir Tucker how good it is to see the servants of the Great One once more."

Everyone's eyes bugged out as they took in the eight foot something snow yeti grinning toothily at them from his position beside the rescue vehicles. Kate even let out a short scream, which drew Frostbites attention away from his two friends long enough to notice the state that everyone was in. The smile fell from his face and he immediately motioned for them all to get onto the vehicle. Nobody hesitated long, too relieved to bother having second thoughts as they piled inside. Frostbite turned back to Sam and Tucker, who had remained behind to talk to him.

"Where is the Great One? Lady Danielle mentioned that he wasn't with you but…"

"We lost contact with him," Sam said, "no matter how many times we call he isn't answering."

"Last we heard he was leading the second half of our group past Walker's prison," Tucker added.

Frostbite rubbed his chin in thought, "Walker has been especially active lately, it is possible that they've been captured."

"Then we need to hurry up and get them back!" Sam shouted already imagining the innumerable horrible things that Walker was probably doing to Danny and the others.

"We'll take care of it, but for now we need to get you inside."

The yeti king used his flesh hand to gently guide Sam toward the waiting ship. Tucker followed close behind.

' _You had better be safe Fenton…'_ Sam thought, glancing one more time in the direction of the entrance to the cave before slipping into the shuttle.

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"So Phantom how old are you?"

The ghost teen nearly tripped on an invisible stone at the sudden question and turned to face Cassie who was staring at her nails in an attempt to look casual, which would have worked better if he couldn't see the keen interest reflected in her gray-blue orbs.

Phantom sighed and turned back to face the front, debating whether or not he should answer the question. "…Seventeen" he finally said, figuring that there was no harm.

"Really?" the popular replied, sounding a bit surprised, "I heard a few people say that you looked fifteen when they saw you a year or two ago, do ghosts age?"

"Some more powerful ghosts have the ability to alter their age," Maddie answered, eyes trained on Phantom as she spoke, "It depends on how long the ghost has been dead and what type of spirit they are."

Cassie hummed in response and they lapsed back into silence.

"So how long have you been dead?"

This time Phantom wasn't as startled by the question and made a point of not answering. The last thing that he needed was an interrogation that would inevitably lead to the discovery of his secret.

"Did you have a girlfriend when you died?" The question was ignored once again and Cassie huffed indignantly, angry that he wasn't answering any of her inquiries.

The other members of the group eyed the white haired teen curiously, their interest piqued by Cassie's questions and Phantoms refusal to answer them. It was common knowledge that the ghost boy saved their town on a regular basis before disappearing right after the fight finished. He always managed to evade any fans or news people that tried to interview him after the fact and hardly anything was known about him outside a battle setting.

Now that they all got a closer look at him they realized that he did indeed look to be around seventeen with a fairly impressive built that was in no way hidden by his skintight hazmat suit. Messy white hair sat in an unbrushed heap atop his head and made him seem – to the girls at least – all the more ruggedly handsome and attractive. That unusual hair framed his tanned face and accentuated his otherworldly green eyes. Just as with all ghosts there was a strange glow that surrounded him, making his appearance seem a bit hazier then it would with a normal human, but unlike all other ghosts the light that surrounded him seemed more…gentle, less hostile perhaps.

They were all dying to ask a few questions themselves. Nobody could deny the obvious mystery that surrounded the boy and the desire to know more about him was almost impossible to ignore. But before any of them could build up enough courage to ask Phantom stiffened, stopping in the middle of the path and throwing an arm out to make them all stop as well.

Green eyes flicked back and forth nervously for a few moments before he whirled around and shot an ecto-blast directly over their heads. They all ducked instinctively as it flew over them and flinched when they heard a loud screech. Turning they all noticed a pair of ectopus's floating several feet above them, one still reeling from the hit that it had taken while the other charged.

Phantom shot off from the ground and grabbed one of its tentacles, whipping it into the other and sending them both spiraling backwards. They recovered only to find the ghost boy mere inches in front of them, his hand charged with ecto-energy and ready to fire.

"Not in the mood today guys, I would recommend walking away now before I decide to get really rough," the energy still gathered in his palm flared to accentuate the threat and the two ectopus's briefly made eye contact before turning and flying off into the swirling green sky.

Phantom watched them go before lowering himself back to the front of the group, giving everyone a reassuring smile before continuing their trek. Nobody said anything, just got up to follow. The strangeness of the situation had stopped being strange hours ago.

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It took roughly another hour to reach the Far Frozen and Phantom broke off a piece of the path to fly them across the space between the path and the ice cave's entrance. Johnny would probably be extremely ticked to find another portion of his biking trail damaged but after everything that had already been done to it the white haired teen doubted that the ghostly rider could get much angrier and a little more casual vandalism probably wouldn't hurt any.

Feeling impatient and wanting to avoid the possibility of anyone getting overwhelmed by the cold Phantom decided to use the piece of earth he'd 'borrowed' from the path as a kind of makeshift sled, informing the passengers moments before giving it a rough shove down the incline and tightening his grip on the edge. Everyone screamed as they descended and Phantom managed to swerve to miss several stalagmites that appeared in their path. It took several minutes and a considerable amount of effort on Phantom's part but they managed to make it to the heart of the Far Frozen, pulling up just short of running into the stone arch that had only recently been built and subsequently startling the two remaining architects that had been putting the finishing touches on the aforementioned arch.

"Alright people step lively," Phantom called as he floated above them, "this is the last stop on your tour of the ghost world, hope you enjoy your time here and have a wonderful day!" Half the group was still too shaken to even acknowledge the horrible joke while the other half could only raise their eyebrows or cringe in response.

Valarie and Maddie hopped down from the chunk of rock, both landing easily in the knee-deep snow. Jack attempted to follow but ended up face-planting beside his wife, who proceeded to help him up. Dash and Kwan managed to hop down, stumbling to their knees as they landed.

"You two," Phantom said pointing to Dash and Kwan, who looked startled at being addressed by their idol, "could you help the girls get down?"

The two jocks glanced at Paulina, Star and Cassie, who were kneeling at the edge of the large chunk of earth, staring at the drop with expressions of deep apprehension marring their beauty queen features. Having no words to respond the footballers merely nodded before moving to stand under where the girls were.

Phantom meanwhile grabbed ahold of Lancer, ignoring the teacher's sudden exclamation of _"Pride and Prejudice!"_ as he lowered him to the ground. A sudden shriek had the white haired teen glancing instinctively to the side to see Cassie trying to hold down the hem of her skirt as Kwan caught her. They both flushed as their eyes met and Cassie scrambled out of his arms, swatting him on the shoulder before walking away in a huff. Star was watching the entire spectacle with a jealous glare from where she was still seated on their makeshift ride. Phantom rolled his eyes and floated back up to get Mikey, who was still a little shaken from the initial ride but smiled half-heartedly and offered no protests when the ghost teen lowered him to the ground. Jack Fenton helped the still-injured nerd stand when his feet met ground and Mikey thanked them both.

"What were you thinking!?" Valarie suddenly shouted, all anger now that she was certain everyone was alright and her feet were on somewhat solid ground. She stormed toward their spectral guide, making him reel back as she shoved a finger in his face, "Give people more warning before you do things like that, we have _injured_ here Phantom, unlike you we die if we get hurt badly enough."

Something flashed in the ghost teens eyes for a moment but it was gone before Valarie could properly identify it. The next second he put his hands up in a placating gesture and gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry I made sure that everyone was hanging onto something before we went over, there's no way that any of you will get injured on my watch."

The huntress blinked and lowered her hand, taken aback by the assurance and how true it rang. Taking her silence as a temporary reprieve from her hostility he turned back to the group, who were all mutely watching the confrontation. Phantom cleared his throat to ensure that he had their full attention before smiling and gesturing to the arch, "Welcome to the Far Frozen, home of one of the most intelligent races in the Zone."

All eyes turned to the frozen tundra before them. They were standing at the crest of a hill that overlooked a small valley of tundra ringed with mountains. Yeti ghosts were rushing about from one cave opening to another carrying chunks of metal and wooden crates. They were all large and furry with hair as white as the snow covered ground they inhabited, clothed in rusty brown chestnut colored loincloths and boots. Some wore cloaks of the same color thrown around their shoulders. Dark blue armbands with small white designs completed the attire. Overall the word that came to mind was 'tribal.'

"Great One."

They all turned to see one of the architects kneeling in front of Phantom with his head inclined, "Word has already been sent to our King and your friends have arrived would you like me to lead you to them?"

Phantom smiled and nodded, "That would be great WinterDagger and you don't have to bow, it really isn't necessary."

The yeti glanced up at the ghost teen with a toothy smile that looked more like a cross between a smirk and grimace to everyone else. Unnerved, everyone but Jack, Maddie, and Valarie took a step back as the ghost stood, right hand resting on his chest with his head still inclined. "You are very humble Great One," the yeti said softly, reverently.

Everyone was startled by the admiration glowing in the ghost's red and yellow eyes but Phantom merely chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck almost sheepishly. "Not really but thanks for the compliment…sorry to rush you and all but it's kinda cold out here so…"

He left the sentence unfinished and the yeti's eyes swiveled from the ghost boy to the group of shivering humans behind him, immediately understanding and offering another short bow before turning and leading them toward one of the caves. Phantom motioned for them to follow and floated behind the yeti, slowing to keep pace with everyone else as they trudged through the thick snow.

Once they reached the cave opening the snow thinned out until it was nothing but rocky cave walls and floor. The further they walked the more yeti they met. They all wore nearly the same outfit, some carried heavy packages and crates but no matter what they were doing they never failed to stop and bow to Phantom. He just smiled and waved to them, calling out several names along with greetings and receiving smiles in return.

After walking for miles (or what felt like miles to the tired and weary group) they all turned off into a large open dining room. The ceiling was tall and two sets of stairs led up to a pair of second floor hallways that were decorated with ice hand railings and branched out onto both sides of the room. A long table stretched in front of them, filled with food and occupied by their seven missing classmates. They were all clean and wore fluffy white and gray coats, laughing hysterically at something that someone had said between bites of their meal.

Frostbite, who had been sitting at the head of the table, was the first to notice the new guests and quickly stood from his seat to make his way over to them. "Great One it is good to see that you arrived safely!" the yeti exclaimed inclining his head slightly before placing a large hand on the ghost teen's shoulder.

Phantom chuckled, "Thanks, I'm assuming that they already told you the situation?" the white haired boy said as he motioned to the group of seven feasting at the table.

"They have indeed and we should have your shuttles ready in roughly six human hours. For now though I would recommend that you all rest and get something to eat, any injured can be checked out in our medical facilities and we have already prepared several rooms for you all."

Taking his hand off of Phantom's shoulder Frostbite smiled at the new group of humans, who flinched away from the fanged grin that still looked too menacing to be trusted. Unlike the rest of the yeti they had seen this one was wearing blue instead of rust brown chestnut. He only had a single band around one of his arms and it was gold, matching the golden belt around his waist. The attire was far more regal than the others of the yeti species and the way that he'd addressed Phantom was far less formal as well, which led them all to think that he was someone important. Of all the snow beast's they'd seen so far though this one was by far the most intimidating. Aside from the ice horns on top of his head (they all had those) he was also missing an arm, or at least it wasn't completely there. His left arm was nothing but bone from the shoulder down with a thick layer of ice in place of skin.

Many of the newcomers turned slightly green around the gills at the sight. Paulina and Cassie yelped while Star tried to swallow the bile that had formed in her throat. Maddie and Jack, who had been on edge the entire time, stared at the arm wide-eyed, seeming to momentarily forget that they were in the lair of a ghost. Valarie scowled and positioned herself beside the Fenton's at the front of the group, almost as if expecting an attack.

Frostbite didn't seem fazed by their reactions; in fact he kept smiling as he motioned them all into the room with a wave of his flesh arm. Hesitantly they all filed in and sat down at the large table, relaxing a bit as they received a few welcomed shouts from their friends.

Once they had all settled down Phantom turned back to Frostbite, his smile disappearing as he fixed his friend with a serious look. "Really Frostbite, thank you for this I don't know how I can repay you."

Frostbite chuckled lightly, "There is no need, you are our friend and ally it is only right that we help you in your time of need. Now then…" The yeti ghost placed his hand back on Phantom's shoulder, slightly more roughly than before and Phantom flinched at the resulting pain, "…you need to head to the medical ward for treatment."

Phantom rubbed the back of his neck as a sheepish smile found its way onto his face, "I'm actually fine, it's not that bad-"

Frostbite quieted him with a look, one that told the ghost teen he wasn't going to get out of this one. Accepting defeat Phantom turned to leave with Wulf trailing behind him, having been silent for the duration of the trek. Less than a minute later a certain Goth and techno geek also slipped out of the room with a few half-hearted excuses to their classmates when they inquired as to where they were heading.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dude," Trev greeted Dash and Kwan, clapping the former heartily on the back as they slid into the seats beside him, "good to see that your both okay."

Dash managed to crack a smile at their fellow jock, "Same to you man."

"I was just asking if your alright don't be such a jerk about it!"

They all turned to see Aless and Cassie shouting at each other across the table. Whatever anxiety had been haunting Cassie's expression when they'd entered the room was completely gone as she glared back at the blonde tomboy.

"Of course I'm not alright! I've been walking for days, got attacked by a creepy iron man knock off, locked up in jail, and went sledding down a freaking mountain!" the beauty queen shouted, "My hair is a mess, my makeup is ruined and this is a new dress!" she continued, fingering the fabric of the pretty long sleeved pink knee-high she'd been wearing, bringing attention to the tears and stains marring the fabric.

Aless scowled and rolled her eyes, "You are so shallow you know that? Thinking about your clothes and hair rather than being grateful that you got out of this with hardly a scratch."

"Hardly a scratch!? Do you not SEE the damage this trip has caused? Almost three days without my usual skin treatment, do you have any idea what that's going to do to my completion-"

"Man she's worse than Paulina," Trev commented.

All three jocks glanced at the aforementioned Latina to find her glaring at the food that had been placed in front of her – a leg of chicken and a partially burnt steak – with disgust. She daintily picked up the beef when she couldn't find any silverware and nibbled at the outer edges.

Dash nodded in agreement, "Cass and the other chick don't seem to get along too well."

"Aless," Rory said from where he was sitting directly across from them, "her name is Aless."

Dash shrugged, "Whatever."

"It's because their siblings."

All four guys whirled around to face Kate, who had been sitting quietly on Trev's other side. She had reverted back to being the shy girl that they were all used to seeing around school once the two groups had reunited and they had barely heard her speak since.

"Siblings? Them?" Trev exclaimed, pointing at the still bickering blondes across the table.

Kate flushed under the sudden attention and subtly sunk down a bit lower in her chair but answered anyway, "Y-yea, Aless and Cassie are twins."

That seemed to flabbergast the guys even more and they all turned to stare at the girls.

"Now that you mention it they do look a little alike…" Kwan said.

Dash shook his head, "They have different hair."

"Looks like Cassie has highlights, take those out and it'd be the same shade of dirty blonde," Rory offered, "they have the same eye color and face shape, the only real differences are their hair and that Aless wears glasses."

Upon looking a little closer the other three boys nodded in agreement, suddenly seeing the resemblance. Trev couldn't help but crack a smile, "I can't believe their related, never met a pair of twins so different before."

"No kidding," Dash snorted, taking a bite of the meal that had found its way onto his plate.

"How'd you know that they're siblings though Kate?" Rory asked.

Kate twirled one of her dark braids around her finger nervously, keeping her eyes on her plate. "I talk to Aless sometimes during class and she's mentioned it once or twice. Cassie tries to hide it but Aless doesn't really care if anyone knows that their related."

"Huh, well it's no wonder Cass doesn't want anyone to know. If word got around that she was related to a loser like that it could ruin her rep," Dash said.

Rory frowned at the quarterback, "First off Aless isn't a loser and second don't call her one."

Dash glared at the ex-track star across the table. The look was universally understood as: _'keep talking and I'll put you in a world of hurt pal'_ but Rory didn't back down. He was generally a very passive person, not one for confrontation, in fact he usually tried his best to avoid it but listening to this guy dissing Aless was getting under his skin for some reason.

"R-Rory have you tried the beef yet? It's really good!" Kate suddenly said, noticing the tension between the two guys and trying to defuse the possibility of a fight.

They didn't take their eyes off each other as Rory nodded, "Yea it is good Kate."

The smile dropped from her face and she was wracking her brain for something else to say when Trev suddenly dropped a huge chunk of beef onto his plate, making it clatter noisily. "Man I'm still starved can't wait to get out of the Zone and go home. Everything will probably _be back to normal when we get back_ right guys?"

He shot a pointed look at Rory before his gaze shifted to Dash. The quarterbacks violet eyes met Trev's hazel and after a few moments something passed between them. The next second Dash snorted and stood up, grabbing a leg of chicken from his plate and walking toward the entrance, ignoring his classmates' calls behind him as he rounded the corner.

At the other end of the table Nathan and Mikey watched Dash storm out of the room, having heard the entire argument. By this time Aless and Cassie had stopped shouting and the former raised a brow as she eyed the retreating quarterback.

"What crawled up his shirt and died?" she asked.

Normally everyone would have laughed. Instead Rory shook his head and jammed some chicken into his mouth while Kate took a sip of water and Trev started up a conversation with Kwan. The blonde narrowed her eyes and turned to Nathan and Mikey, who tensed under her gaze.

"You two wouldn't know what they were talking about would you?" she asked.

"N-no," Nathan said, glancing away guiltily while Mikey wisely decided to stay silent.

Aless hummed thoughtfully before standing from her seat, prompting everyone to look at her as she stuffed her hands in the pockets of the furry coat that the yeti had given her. "I think that I'm gonna go back to my room, Nathan can you make sure that Mikey and Lancer manage to find their way to the medical room?"

The red head nodded in reply to the question and Aless smiled sweetly in return, "Good." Then she turned to Kate, "I guess I'll see you later roomie." With that she walked toward the stairs and disappeared through one of the doors on the second floor.

Trev glanced over at Nathan and couldn't help the barking laugh that escaped his throat as he took in the dark red painting the nerds face. "That was a nice hundred watt smile wasn't it Nathan my man!"

The curly haired boy started at the sound of his name and his face seemed to grow darker if that was even possible. "N-no! T-that is I….uh, well, um."

Trev laughed harder, eventually receiving a few words of reprimand from Kate that managed to discontinue his laughing fit. She followed up with a few words of assurance to Nathan that ended his stuttering and allowed them all to go back to their meal.

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Phantom had stripped off his shirt and was having the burn on his chest examined by the yeti healer when his friends came in. His green eyes lit up when he saw them and he lifted his hand in a small wave, careful not to use his injured arm.

"Hey guys, what's-"

Sam was across the room in seconds, arms wrapped around his shoulders in a tight embrace. His good arm came up to wrap around her waist instinctively, familiar warmth flowing through him at her touch. The floral lilac scent of her hair assaulted his senses and he sighed deeply, relieved that she seemed to be unharmed. Just as quickly as the hug had started Sam suddenly pulled away and before he had time to react she was right in his face, violet eyes flashing angrily.

"You complete idiot!" she shouted, "Why didn't you answer? Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?"

Phantom rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled lightly, "Well we kinda got ambushed by Walker and I didn't exactly have time to call before he knocked me out and took the Fenton phones so-"

"So steal them back and let us know that you're okay! For all we knew he was torturing you in that prison or you'd been attacked by one of your other enemies."

The halfa tried not to wince as her grip tightened on his shoulders but she caught it anyway, zeroing in on the spot that Walker's guard had shot him. She pointed to the injury, "What happened here?" then her eyes slid to the burn on his chest, "and there?"

"Skulker might've managed to get me in the chest with some blaster fire and Walker's guards seem to have improved their aim," Phantom answered.

She glowered at him a few more moments before turning to the healer, who had taken it upon himself to re-organize one of his cabinets while the couple argued. "How bad are they?"

"Cracked two ribs, minimal burns on the shoulder thanks to the protection from the hazmat suit and the longer range of the shot but the burns on the chest were pretty bad. As far as healing goes the burns are nearly gone though they still need a little salve, the ribs are healing well but all the running around after the injury has jarred them a little, they'll need to be properly bound and if he takes it easy they should heal completely in about a day."

The healer listed everything off in a very concise and expert manner, after having treated the ghost hero a few times in the past he'd quickly picked up on what his Goth friend wanted to know and how she wanted to know it. She nodded quickly in response to the physician before grabbing a roll of gauze and some salve and turning back to her boyfriend.

Flipping the cap off the cream she took a decent amount on the tips of her fingers and started to dab it onto the charred flesh of his chest. Phantom resisted the urge to hiss in pain and instead turned his attention to Tucker, who had been standing off to the side watching the entire spectacle.

"Good to see you too Tuck."

"You're just lucky that I like you enough to enter a medical facility," he glanced nervously at the ice glass cabinet full of jars as if to accentuate his point, "I'm gonna guess from everything you just said that you got caught by Walker?"

The halfa bit back a grin and nodded, "He's upgraded that prison, added a guard post and a cage with ecto-electricity to hold humans. I think he might've started some new training with his guards too, given them new weapons."

"And you found Wulf while you were there?"

Phantom nodded and as if on cue the wolf ghost suddenly appeared behind Tucker, wrapping his arms around him and delivering a wet lick to the side of his face. Tuck cried out in disgust and started shouting in Esperanto, trying to push the wolf ghost off while the large creature continued to lick him. Phantom laughed only to be reprimanded by Sam for moving, though she couldn't help but crack a smile as she listened to Tucker's frantic screaming behind them.

"So you need me to remove his collar?" the dark skinned teen asked when he finally managed to get the affectionate ghost wolf off him.

"Pretty much yea," Phantom replied.

Tucker whipped out his PDA and started typing, fingers flying over the keys as a snake-like cord attached itself to one of the ports in Wulf's collar. Within seconds the device beeped and powered down, falling to the ground with a heavy thud. The wolf ghost lifted a paw to rub his throat, face breaking into a fanged grin when he felt the fur under his fingers.

"Liberaj!" _Free!_ Wulf cried happily, wrapping Tuck in another quick hug before rushing over to Phantom and embracing him as well. The halfa winced painfully at the contact but smiled and patted the wolf ghost on the back regardless. After releasing the injured half ghost Wulf turned to Sam, who promptly shook her head, "Sorry hugs aren't my thing."

"Unless it's with Danny!" Tucker shouted out mischievously.

Sam leveled him with a glare that made him wisely shut his mouth but he couldn't quite repress the laugh that burst out of his throat when Wulf licked the side of her face.

"Dankon geamikoji I am eterne dankema." _Thank you friends I am forever grateful._ Wulf said.

Phantom smiled, "Neniu problemo that's kio amikoj estas por." _No problem that's what friends are for._

Sam and Tucker nodded in agreement. Wulf smiled again before whirling around and bringing his claws down, tearing a green swirling portal into the vacant air before diving into the newly created opening. It sealed up behind him, leaving the three teenagers alone in the room.

With the wolf ghost gone Sam turned back to Phantom's wounds, finishing the wrapping on his torso before moving to his shoulder. She smeared it with salve, wrapping it in gauze and a slightly looser bandaging to enable movement. Once she was done Phantom slipped off the examination table that he'd been seated on and zipped the hazmat back up, fingering the fresh tear in the shoulder.

"Thank god that this thing can mend itself, it would suck if I had to fix it every time I got injured."

Tucker chuckled, "You'd have the skills to become a seamstress though, fallback career if the superhero thing doesn't work out."

Phantom frowned while Sam laughed and leaned against him, their sides brushing. He felt the contact and familiar warmth overcame him, chasing away his annoyance and making it difficult to keep glaring at Tuck. The techno geek grinned as he watched his best friends posture shift, he was still scowling but it was obviously hard to maintain. Sam just has that kind of effect on him, Tucker knew, and Danny has the same effect on her. He was contemplating making another PDA joke when he heard voices around the corner. Being closest to the door Tucker stuck his head out into the hall, seeing Nathan and Lancer walking toward them with Jack Fenton carrying Mikey three steps behind.

The techno geek stepped into the hall and raised his hand in greeting, "Hey Nathan what's up?"

"Just heading to the medical room, we need to get Mr. Lancer and Mikey treated."

Tucker nodded, "Sam and I were just in here asking about that, thought it might be better to let you guys eat first since the injuries have already been pretty well treated."

It was only a half lie; the injuries were well taken care of, courtesy of Mrs. Fenton and her field medical training no doubt.

"We did manage to get a bit of food, but thought it better to get ourselves treated as soon as possible," Lancer said, gesturing to the improvised sling that wrapped his arm.

"That's good and don't worry their ready for you, the guys here know what they're doing," Tucker said, strategically avoiding the D word before turning and walking back into the medical ward, followed closely by the others. Sam and Phantom had separated, the former leaning casually on the wall beside the door while the latter was re-rolling a few strips of gauze that Sam had intended to use on him but ended up not needing. Phantom turned from his work and smiled at the newcomers, "Here for those injuries?"

Nathan and Mikey nodded dumbly, still unsure how to address the ghost hero while Lancer verbally confirmed it with a mild "yes."

Phantom finished the last roll and pushed them off to the side before turning to fully face them. Their eyes were drawn to the charred fabric of his shoulder, which stood out more prominently with the bandage wrapped around it.

"The doctor left a few minutes ago but he should be back."

As if on cue the healer walked through the door and directed the humans to sit on one of the stone stools in the corner. Frostbite had informed him that some of their human guests required medical attention, having played host to Phantom and his human accomplices on more than one occasion the yeti's had stock piled a considerable amount of human medical products, most of which had been gathered with the help of Danny, Sam, and Tucker, who carted an impressive stock back and forth from Fenton Works to the Far Frozen.

The yeti ghost stood in front of the injured humans, recognizing one that he had taken care of already. He reached down and took Nathans hand, making three of the four humans jump while the final one – the largest of the group clothed in an orange jumpsuit – jerked forward as if to attack, only to be stopped by Phantom placing a hand on his shoulder and angling himself between the ghost hunter and the physician.

"It appears to be healing nicely but I suggest that you get it checked out by a human healer when you return to your home, I have limited knowledge of human anatomy and can only provide so much care to an injury such as this."

Lancer shifted uncomfortably in his seat and Phantom shot him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry Snowdrift is just being modest he's actually really good at taking care of human patients."

The yeti ghost, who had yet to show any change of expression, smiled lightly at the praise. It was just a slight quirk of the lips but everyone could tell that he was pleased at being complemented by the young Phantom. "Many thanks for your praise Great One," the ghostly healer said, inclining his head in the same respectful way that all the other yeti had.

The ghost teen waved his hand dismissively, "Just like I told WinterDagger earlier you don't have to bow or anything…it's honestly a little too formal for me."

For a second the yeti ghost almost looked like he was about to laugh but he settled for another smile instead, "Modest as always Great One."

Phantom sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Why does everyone keep saying that…"

This time the healer did laugh and had to almost bite his tongue to stop when the ghost teen glared at him. The conversation died down after that and the yeti ghost went on to treat his new patients, who were reluctant to administer themselves to his care. Jack almost attacked the healer several times and only stopped after being assured by both Sam and Tucker that the man – ghost – was a professional that knew what he was doing.

When he was finished Lancer's arm was in a cast and Mikey's ankle had been wrapped. The various small cuts and the single long one down Mikey's arm, which was already very well treated, were disinfected and properly bandaged. The healer gave them all the standard warnings, don't put too much pressure on the ankle, try not to jar the arm too much, etc.

They were halfway out the door when Snowdrift turned back to Phantom, "How are you feeling Great One?"

The ghost teen smiled and rotated his shoulder, "Pretty good actually, it already feels a lot better. Thanks for that by the way."

"I believe it is not I that you should thank," the yeti replied, shooting a pointed glance at Sam.

Phantom laughed, "Definitely, pretty sure I would be lost without her."

Snowdrift only smiled as the ghost teen bid him goodbye and followed the others into the hall where Sam and Tucker were trying to convince the others to move along and not eavesdrop.

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They all went back to the dining hall, which had mostly cleared out. The food and plates were gone, likely cleaned up by the yeti after the meal had concluded. Everyone but Rory, Kate, Trev and Maddie had left. The three teens were currently discussing their trek through the Ghost Zone with Maddie listening in and throwing out occasional questions from where she sat quietly at the end of the table. Once the senior ghost huntress spotted her husband and the others she stood from the table, forgetting her scientific curiosity about what the other group had seen (she could always ask them later) and hurrying over to greet the new arrivals.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked.

Jack nodded, "Everyone's been treated, can't figure out how these ghosts know anything about human medicine though."

Sam and Tuck shared a secret smile while Phantom shifted a bit uneasily, both actions going unnoticed by everyone else in the group.

"Frostbite said that our ride should be ready in a few hours," Phantom said, trying to divert their attention away from the current topic of discussion, "you all should probably get to the guest rooms and rest, you don't look like you've gotten much of it the past few days."

Jack and Maddie were reluctant to go, stubbornly convinced that it was a trap, but some prompting by Sam and Tuck along with a word or two from Lancer, who had been largely mute on the trust or not to trust ghost's issue up until now, made them grudgingly agree. Phantom offered to fly Mikey up to the second floor so that it wouldn't agitate his ankle but Jack wouldn't allow it, electing to carry the injured teen instead.

The rooms that Frostbite had assigned to them were like a combination between ancient tribal and modern. Beds made of stone that were covered in warm furs were the only things that furnished the rooms, which couldn't be more than 20'20 and were quite crowded considering that the beds were about 8'9, which made sense given the size of the yeti. It struck Jack and Maddie as odd that ghosts would need sleeping quarters because they didn't need to sleep, but they didn't inquire any further into the issue, instead insisting that they check on everyone before going to their own quarters.

Mikey and Nathan shared a room, Lancer took one by himself and once the Fenton parents had seen them safely to their temporary lodgings they went to every door, knocking and checking on every one of the field trip students before insisting on seeing Sam and Tuck to their rooms as well. To keep up the farce Sam took the last vacant room at the end of the hall, thankful that Frostbite had set up an extra guest room in spite of Sam, Tucker and Danny already having their own personal quarters created specifically for their visits. Unfortunately Sam and Tuck sharing a room was completely out of the question, which led to the techno geek having to bunk with Mr. Lancer, much to his chagrin and everyone else's amusement.

Jack then proceeded to station himself in the center of the hall, right in front of their room and told Maddie to get some sleep while he took first watch. She thanked him with a peck on the cheek and shot a glare at the still-lingering Phantom as if to say _'try anything and I'll rip you apart molecule by molecule'_ before entering their room, leaving the door cracked behind her.

"Get out of here ghost!" Jack shouted, almost loud enough to wake anyone that might have already been sleeping, "And remember that I'm watching you."

Phantom had to make a conscious effort not to roll his eyes. "Make sure to get some sleep," the ghostly teen called out before floating over the expanse of the empty dining room and stopping at the center door set up on the left side hallway. His hand hovered over the doorknob for a few silent moments before he pulled it back and turned to walk back toward the stairs.

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Phantom had no idea what had prompted him to go for a walk in the ice caverns. It was late in the human world, or perhaps early depending on how you looked at it, but he was feeling especially on edge and probably couldn't get to sleep if his half-life depended on it. Most of Frostbite's men were gathered outside the caves working on the shuttles, making every hallway that the teen ghost took predictably vacant which was just fine by him.

The halfa rarely had the urge to be alone anymore and he tended to ignore it whenever it came about out of sheer paranoia and the memory of his horrible future self. An involuntary shiver went up his spine and he quickly brushed it away, the last thing that he needed was to relive that horrible experience again. Dwelling on it too much tended to lead to nightmares and even though Phantom probably wouldn't be sleeping anyway he didn't need more negativity heaped onto his already horrible week.

It was while he was aimlessly wandering the halls that Phantom came upon Casper's star quarterback, who was slouched up against the wall looking frustrated and tired.

"What are you doing here?" Phantom asked.

Dash jumped and swung around, panic flashing in his eyes for a few moments before he saw that it was the local town hero. Feeling pathetic and horribly embarrassed to have been caught unawares by his idol the footballer scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Well…I um kinda went for a walk…"

An understanding smile lit up the ghost boys face as he realized that Dash was lost, chuckling inwardly at the bully's plight before replying, "You should probably get back; everyone else has already turned in. I was just about to head back myself."

"Mind if I tag along?" Dash asked.

"Sure," Phantom replied.

Grateful to have been saved from admitting to his embarrassment the jock smiled and straightened, keeping pace with him as they walked down the hall. Dash repeatedly glanced at the ghost boy out of the corner of his eye for a few silent moments impressed, as always, with his spectral green eyes and confident gait.

Dash had always been one of Phantom's biggest fans, even before he became popular on the local media and gained a lot of hero brownie points after saving Amity from the first big ghost invasion. Most kids at Casper are very pro-Phantom, probably because the high school is a major ghost hot-spot and the students have the pleasure of running from the chaos of the bi-daily attacks, but the A-listers tended to support him more strongly than the other Casper student social classes.

The girls, like Paulina and Cassie, tend to like him because he's good looking and cool. Strong heroic guys make girls swoon and adding a skin-tight hazmat suit to the exotic hair and eye color yields an instant superstar. The jocks tend to like him because he's just plain awesome. Flying around firing ecto-blasts at ghost baddies all day just naturally gains him recognition especially from people like the athletes, who have great respect for the strong. Overall his looks and obvious athleticism combined with the awesome effect makes him worthy of fandom in the A-list world.

Dash had always watched Phantom's battles from afar, marveling at how cool the ghost boy looked when he was fighting. He'd never really given a thought to what happened during those fights so long as his hero won, which he always did so it wasn't much of a problem. After spending a bit of time with him in the Ghost Zone though the quarterback was beginning to understand that Phantom's life wasn't the celebrity montage that he'd imagined it to be. Sure he'd acknowledged that he probably had a bit of trouble with half the towns disapproval and the Fenton's as well as the GIW constantly tailing him but the ghost hunters were jokes (all except for the Red Huntress) and it wasn't like normal people could really do anything to harm him by not liking him anyway. In Dash's mind those people were just stupid and had no idea what they were talking about.

Now though, after having watched Phantom battle with the guards and seeing how much strain that it put on him to bring down the Prison, Dash was starting to think that being a superhero was a lot harder than Phantom made it look. His violet eyes were drawn to the bandage peeking out from under the torn shoulder of the ghost boy's hazmat as he thought this. He hadn't even known that ghosts could get hurt.

"What's it like…being a hero I mean?" Dash suddenly asked.

He hadn't exactly meant to ask the question but it came out anyway. Phantom looked surprised for a moment before drawing his eyebrows together in thought. "Well it isn't easy for sure," he said, "but anyone can be a true hero, all you have to do is care about people, put them before you and try to do the right thing or at least that's how I try to do the whole hero thing," the ghost teen smiled while Dash blinked, astonished at how nonchalantly he had answered.

"But you get hurt all the time…" the jock said, motioning to his bandaged shoulder.

Phantom glanced at it almost like he'd forgotten that it was there. "Oh this? Not the worst I've ever had believe me and the injuries are just part of the job description, not like it'll kill me," He chuckled lightly at his own joke.

Dash winced at the mention of his hero's mortality, or at least his former mortality. He was talking about it like a normal person would the weather which, the jock reasoned, wasn't such a bad thing. Better than dwelling on it at least, no doubt that's exactly what the footballer would do if he were to die. At this point the blonde jock had fallen a few steps behind his hero despite the easy pace that Phantom set.

The ghost teen always walked with his back straight and shoulders back, the very epitome of confident and cool. It was part of what made Dash idolize him so much. Not that the footballer would ever admit it to anyone but he was a very insecure person, increasing pressure from his parents and coaches didn't help his self-confidence. The smallest mistake made them think that he was botching his football scholarship (admittedly the only redeeming skill he has) and ultimately ended with a long lecture or shouting spell depending on the day. On top of that the peer pressure that naturally comes from leading the A-list is enough to make any normal kid certifiably insane or, in the case of Dash Baxter, a notorious bully.

Let people say what they want but all that psychological crap that shrinks like to spout out isn't all that far off. Dash wailed on nerds partially to keep up his reputation and assure that no one would challenge his authority but also as a form of stress relief and occasionally (or often) out of jealousy. Unlike the popular crowd the lower social classes had it pretty easy from what the Casper High quarterback could tell.

Some of them might be pressured to get good grades on tests by their parents and stuff like that but it can't be any worse then what Dash's parents expect of him. His father had actually come right out and told him that he would be basically screwed if he didn't get a football scholarship. His mother had attempted to sooth her husband before cheerfully reminding her son that they loved him and told him to continue to work hard. Later that night Dash had heard her telling his father that he couldn't say those types of things out loud no matter how true they were.

Now Dash wasn't completely alone in his life. He had Kwan, who has been his best pal and running buddy for almost two years now, and surprisingly Paulina who had decided to befriend him after numerously vetoing his attempts at flirting with her. She was actually a surprisingly good human being under all that drama queen though she was still an almost unbearable pain sometimes.

These two are the only people who can truly say they know Dash Baxter and they frequently consult each other when life becomes too stressful. The rest of the A-listers are pretty much just there to look good and be popular with Dash and Paulina ruling over their respective parties and Kwan taking his position as the quarterback's right hand man.

It's not an entirely bad existence but when Dash sees how easy the nerds and geeks have it he tends to get angry. How could any of those losers know what it's like to carry the weight of an entire team and your own future on your shoulders? They just breezed through life talking about World of Warcraft and getting good grades that will ultimately lead them into stable jobs as doctors and lawyers. Their futures are basically guaranteed while Dash has to work like a dog for his.

But Phantom is different, Dash can see that he knows what pain feels like and knows how to take it. He doesn't complain and even laughs in the face of danger. Dash is admittedly a little jealous of Phantom but unlike the tinged-with-rage jealousy he gets from watching the losers around school his envy for Phantom is more like the kind that any fan worth their salt would have. The admiration that he feels for Amity Park's resident hero definitely outweighs any jealousy, especially after seeing what he's gone through just in guiding them back to the Fenton Portal.

Before Dash had admired the ghost boy for just being strong, cool and overall amazing when heroically saving the town from the ghost infestation that constantly plagued it. To an extent he still admires him for that but now…

The footballer once again glanced at Phantom's profile and was struck by how real he looked. Aside from the creepy glow and stark white hair he just looked like a normal kid in a black and white hazmat. Unlike the other ghost's he seemed more human.

Phantom caught Dash staring and turned quirking an eyebrow, "Something wrong?"

"N-no nothing…" he replied, feeling embarrassed.

"Good but I think you should get some rest."

Dash blinked and looked around, suddenly realizing that they'd ended up back in the dining hall that they'd been eating in only an hour or two before and briefly wondering how he hadn't noticed their arrival.

"Your room should be third to the left once you go up that staircase," Phantom said, pointing to the grand stairs leading up to the left side second floor hallway. Dash's gaze followed his finger before he turned back to Phantom, maybe to try and continue the conversation or maybe just to say thanks, the quarterback never did figure it out because when he turned the ghost boy was gone. Dash glanced around briefly almost expecting to see the ghostly teenager floating somewhere in the room but saw nothing.

Feeling suddenly cold and a bit foolish the jock trudged up the stairs, snorting at a snoring Jack Fenton collapsed in the middle of the hallway before opening the third door just as Phantom had instructed. Kwan was asleep on one of the crazy beds buried in furs. Dash collapsed on the other without registering that he was using a dead animal as bedding.

Eye's drooping with exhaustion the last thought that Dash had before drifting off was: _'He's a really good guy…'_

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Danny woke a few hours later to someone shaking him. He tried to roll over, moaning for the person to go away and come back in a few hours but the shaking got more insistent and the next thing he knew he had fallen from the bed, landing face first on a fur rug and getting a mouthful of hair. His body naturally reacted to the tumble by making him jerk upward, thus banging his head on the corner of the nightstand. The halfa grunted in pain, both hands going to the forming lump at the back of his skull.

Feminine laughter filled the room as Danny cracked his eyes open, focusing on the black and white blur floating in front of him and having to blink rapidly for a few moments before his vision cleared.

"Danielle!?" he exclaimed.

The ghost girl wiped tears of mirth out of her glowing green orbs, smirking widely, "The one and only!"

She had grown in the past three years, at least 5'2, probably about as tall as his shoulder. Her long snowy white hair had grown out and was still pulled into a long tail at the base of her neck while her ghost suit had remained the exact same. She wasn't a kid anymore though, by all accounts she was a fifteen year old girl and the new maturity was easily distinguished in the lack of baby fat and more defined features of her face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, leaning back against the night stand.

"Sam and Tucker didn't tell you? I got sucked into a natural portal and practically fell right on top of them while they were on their way here. They told me what was going on and I came along to help. Sorry that I wasn't here to greet you by the way, Icetooth was giving me a tour," her grin became slightly wicked, "especially liked the shrine to you _oh Great One,_ it really captured your essence well."

Danny groaned and ran a hand through his raven locks, "I really need to tell Frostbite not to show that to everyone who comes here…"

"I'll say, though I can't tell why you're embarrassed about it. I mean I knew that there were a lot of ghosts that feared and respected you but you never told me you saved the Zone and beat the ghost king!"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, grinning at his affronted cousin, "It never came up?"

She raised a thin eyebrow and scoffed almost inaudibly, "Whatever, anyway Frostbite sent me up here to get you, the shuttles are ready."

Danny pulled himself to his feet, allowing the ring of blinding blue energy to wash over him while he stood. "Better get the others then, looks like we're finally going home."

Both Phantoms flew out into the hallway, crossing the gap between the two second story hallways. Danny lowered himself to the ground while Dani remained suspended a foot in the air, she had never been very happy with her small stature, which was still pretty short even after her growth spurt, and relished the extra height that floating gave her.

Jack Fenton was still standing guard in the center of the hallway. If you could call being spread across the floor snoring loud enough to wake the dead (none of them had been stupid enough to sleep within hearing distance) standing guard. Phantom carefully stepped over him and rapped his knuckles on the door behind the Fenton father, knowing that it would be safer to wake the ghost hunter's wife before attempting to wake him. Jack had a nasty track record of shooting first and asking never after all.

Maddie answered almost instantly with her portable Fenton-saber clutched in her opposite hand. Phantom stepped back and smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way that didn't betray any of the anxiety that he felt.

"The shuttles are ready, the sooner we get going the sooner you'll all be back home."

The ghost huntress stared at him for a few silent moments, just enough to make him wonder if she really was going to attack him, before nodding shortly and moving to wake up her husband. Phantom turned and headed down the hall to start knocking on doors, saying that it was time to go just loud enough to alert whoever was sleeping on the other side. Danielle flew ahead and did the same, although she was less considerate about her volume.

It was when the first few people started trickling out of their rooms and into the hall that there was a sudden exclamation of "GHOSTS!" which effectively startled them all fully awake and had a few people glancing around frightfully in expectation of an attack. Upon turning however it was revealed to be Jack Fenton, having only just woken up and vaulted to his feet in a rare display of grace and agility that wasn't mirrored in his daily movements.

He was whipping his head from side to side, having evidentially forgotten about their current situation in his sleep-confused state. Blue eyes zeroed in on Danny Phantom who had paused with one hand several inches away from a door in the process of knocking and was staring at the orange clad man with a neutral expression of borderline resignation and a touch of annoyance.

"ECTOPLASMIC SCUM!" Jack shouted, "Don't think that you'll escape Jack Fenton today!"

He reached for the blaster strapped to his back only to feel his hands close around thin air. Blinking in confusion Jack searched for his weaponry and came up empty before turning to his wife. "Mad's where're all my weapons?" he asked.

"Jack you don't have any weapons," she replied.

"Why not?"

"We're trapped in the Ghost Zone honey, remember?"

Dark eyebrows drew together in thought for a few moments before he snapped his fingers, "Ah! That's right we were taking the kids for a tour and crashed."

Maddie smiled sweetly at her husband, "That's right dear and Phantom," a wary glance in his direction accompanied the utterance of the name, making it both look and sound as if it was a struggle just to say it with some semblance of civility, "says that the shuttles are ready so we need to start getting ready to leave."

Several people cheered at the news, all exhaustion forgotten in favor of chatting happily in expectation of their return to human civilization. Lancer, who had been roused by Jack Fenton's shout and bolted upright in bed with a cry of _"Great Gatsby!"_ was beyond relieved. Aside from desiring the immediate treatment of his injured students he was deeply concerned about Danny. Despite Phantom's assurances and the fact that the ghost teen hadn't steered them wrong yet Lancer was still hesitant to trust that Danny was truly safe. Sam and Tucker didn't seem very concerned but that didn't mean much considering how secretive those three were on a daily basis. Phantom floated above them all and clapped his hands together, silencing the chattering and effectively cutting off the English teachers train of thought as all eyes turned to their guide.

"Alright everyone it's just like Mrs. Fenton just said the shuttles are up and running, you're all going home!"

Another cheer went up from the crowd and Phantom smiled before motioning to the stairs, "Head down to the dining room and we'll get going."

They all followed his instructions with Maddie and Lancer doing a head count while Jack helped Mikey down the stairs once again. Phantom flew down to the front of their group and landed inaudibly on the icy tiles before heading out the door with Danielle floating at his shoulder.

Valarie remained at the front of the pack with her gaze trained on Phantom. She was happy to see Danielle again but didn't show it so as not to draw any unnecessary attention and possibly result in revealing her second job as the Red Huntress. The ghost girl hadn't spoken to her yet so she assumed that Dani was thinking along the same lines, which she is grateful for. The ghost huntress still didn't trust Danny Phantom though and wanted to keep an eye on him just in case he tried anything funny. Even without her weapons she was confident that she could hold her own with her black belt. Having seen Maddie Fenton's skills firsthand she also knew that she could rely on the woman to back her up if worse came to worse and unlike her the elder huntress was armed with the Fenton-saber which would give them a fighting chance and at the very least allow the others to escape before Phantom could do anything to them.

Star trailed behind her friend and took note of the strange set of her jaw as well as her seemingly angry demeanor but decided not to comment. Honestly all the blonde wanted was to get home and forget that this field trip had ever happened. She is good at ignoring things; she always turns a blind eye to Paulina and her crazy superiority complex after all.

Paulina herself was walking beside Valarie at the front also staring at the ghost boy. She was still feeling a little sore from his rejection earlier in their adventure and couldn't figure out why he had rejected her advances in the first place. Paulina is pretty, popular, everything that any guy could ever want in a girl yet Phantom didn't seem like other guys. There was no conceivable reason that he wouldn't want to jump on any chance to go out with her and yet he had.

Cassie was actually wondering something similar. The Latina had been quiet and pensive since Phantom had rebuffed her. It did give Cassie a bit of smug satisfaction to see Paulina get rejected, it wasn't like they were true friends after all it was more of a convenient alliance than anything but despite their competitive jealousy towards each other there was also genuine respect somewhere deep down. The blonde drama queen had no problems admitting that Paulina was beautiful and could generally have any guy that she wanted. As a matter of fact she hadn't failed to get any guy she'd set her sights on yet.

Cassie herself didn't care at all for Phantom. He was cute sure and popular but unlike Paulina she is very much conscious of the fact that he is dead and that the possibility of it working out is about the same as a snowball living a full life in hell, physically impossible in any and every way. At the same time he is still a male and no male has ever been known to reject Paulina Sanchez (for god's sake the neighbors male German Shepard follows her around like a helpless puppy whenever she comes over to hang out) which leads Cassie to think that he must have someone else, that's honestly the most believable explanation next to him being homosexual. From her social experience the blonde A-lister is fairly sure that he isn't gay, he just doesn't act like it, and that just further cemented the validity of her conclusion. A smile curved at her lips as she watched the Hispanic popular worry her bottom lip between her teeth in thought. Regardless of what his reasons were it was still fun to watch Paulina work herself into a tizzy about this and Cassie decided to drop the subject altogether in favor of their impending return home.

Dash wasn't far behind Paulina with Kwan hanging close to his side. Both of them had been awakened by Jack's screaming and promptly freaked out at the possible ghost attack. It wasn't until Phantom knocked on the door and informed them of their departure that they'd finally crawled out from under their covers and joined everyone else.

Aless, Rory, Kate and Trev were chatting with Nathan and Mikey, the latter was being piggy backed by Mr. Fenton, near the back with Sam and Tucker taking up the rear along with Lancer. Maddie, upon finishing her head count, headed to the front of the group to stand with Valarie and the others, hand notably wrapped around the retracted Fenton-saber.

Danielle eyed the weapon warily before turning to her cousin and whispering something in his ear. His eyes shifted to the saber before returning to her as he replied in a voice too low for anyone to overhear. Maddie was admittedly put off by the appearance of a female Danny Phantom but was less concerned about that and more concerned about whatever they were whispering about.

"So where have you been these past few years?" Phantom asked Danielle, taking a right at the next T-intersection without really registering it.

"Well I've already seen most of the U.S. so I stowed away on a ship heading over to Europe, I was halfway through my tour of Spain when that portal sucked me in."

Phantom chuckled and reached up to ruffle her white hair. Danielle pouted and retaliated by pushing both hands into his shoulder and adding a bit of ecto-energy to try and throw him off balance. The teen barely stumbled and laughed heartily at her failed attempt.

"Good try cuz, maybe in a couple more years when you grow a little taller."

She huffed again and crossed her arms in a pout; he knew that she hated how short she was. "Aww c'mon Dani your only fifteen you've still got three years to go, speaking of growing how have you been eating? You are making sure to get all the food you need right?"

There was a twinge of concern in his voice and Danielle had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as his big brother complex kicked in. "Yea, I hate having to swipe it but it's not like I can just buy it, trying to find odd jobs while traveling is actually pretty tough so there's no other way to get anything."

His eyebrows scrunched together, lips thinning. "But it okay," she hastily added, "I'm having a lot of fun so its fine, I'm actually thinking about heading to France or England next, I hear their nice this time of year."

"You could come live with me you know," Phantom said.

"But how would you explain me to…" she trailed off as her eyes shifted to the blue jumpsuit clad woman walking five steps behind them, hand still wrapped around the Fenton-saber.

"I'm almost eighteen, getting ready to go off to college. Tuck and I have been thinking about renting an apartment together near the community college that we'll be going to and the place we've been looking at has an extra room."

Toxic green eyes widened as she gulped and nibbled lightly on her bottom lip. "I'll think about it…"

Phantom smiled _'That's better than a no I guess.'_

It didn't take them long to reach their destination, or at least it didn't seem to. Most everyone was impressed by how easily Phantom navigated through the numerous twists and turns of the ice caves, which were as complex as an ancient maze of endlessly shifting passageways. Dozens of yeti mulled about outside, some carrying boxes and crates while others put a few finishing touches on the two distinctly speeder-like grey shuttles sitting in the center of the clearing.

Frostbite trotted over and placed a hand on his chest, inclining his head slightly to Phantom in a show of respect. "Great One, we have completed the shuttles at your request, they are fully functional and able to depart whenever you are."

"Thanks Frostbite," Phantom replied, "I really owe you for this."

The Ice King merely waved his clawed hand in response, "Nonsense Great One, you are a friend to my people and have saved both our worlds numerous times it is the least we can do."

Phantom rubbed the back of his head shyly, "But still though…"

Frostbite laughed in response and slapped the ghost teen heartily on the back. Phantom stumbled and barely managed to keep from taking a header into the snow but laughed back all the same. Danielle floated nearby with a huge grin on her face.

"It was also a pleasure to meet the Great One's relative Lady Danielle Phantom," Frostbite said, turning to the ghost girl.

Her grin disappeared and she got a very distinct deer in the headlights expression that made Phantom snicker behind his gloved hand. Dani shot him a glare before returning her attention to Frostbite, who held his hand out, palm up, toward her. Without warning an ice crystal formed above his clawtips, making all the humans watching, minus Sam and Tucker, gasp in awe. The yeti king handed it to the astonished ghost girl, who stared at it for a few silent moments before turning her wide green eyes up to Frostbite. He smiled his toothy grin, "You are welcome to return any time Danielle Phantom, we have enjoyed having you."

She flushed; blood rushing to her cheeks and making them color rosy pink, "T-Thank you I'll make sure to come back and visit!"

Phantom smiled in gratitude to Frostbite as Dani turned to speak to Icetooth. The snow giant grinned back before motioning for people to start boarding the shuttles. They were less hesitant this time and chatted animatedly as they all filed into the vehicles. Maddie was still on guard and stood beside the door as everyone filed in while Valarie made sure to go first in case there was some kind of trap waiting inside their new transport.

Jack stayed at the back of the group, still piggybacking Mikey and putting his two cents into the conversation that had started up between Nathan and Rory about all the 'cool' things that had happened on this field trip. Several teens rolled their eyes as the Fenton father went on a rant about how horrible and evil ghosts are and his plans for ripping them apart 'molecule by molecule.' Some even groaned at his incessant rambling.

About half the group had boarded when it happened.

The distinct clock-shaped portal appeared right in front of the shuttle, those close enough to see happened to glance out the front windshield and cry out in alarm. Hearing the sudden panic Phantom rushed around the side of the vehicle to find the cause while everyone who was already in the shuttle crowded at the front to get a closer look. The minute hand made a full revolution before landing on the twelve and making the entire thing disappear.

In its place was the ghost of a child wearing purple robes with several watches encircling his gloved hands and a clear sheet of glass covering the front of his torso to shield another clock seemingly implanted inside his body. His eyes were glowing red and he had a distinct black scar cut diagonally across his left eye in the shape of a lightning bolt. There was a staff with a clock planted at its head clutched in the child's left hand, which added to the strange aura of authority he seemed to exude despite his small stature and apparently young age.

Phantom's battle-ready expression melted into a worried frown when he beheld the ghost and he turned back to the rest of the passengers, who had paused in their boarding to stare at the new arrival. "Keep going, don't worry he's a friend" Phantom called out before turning and floating over to the clock ghost.

"Clockwork," Phantom acknowledged as he landed in the heavy snow in front of his mentor, who shifted into his adult form moments before white boots touched down, "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything but why are you here?"

It's a well-known fact that Clockwork rarely leaves his lair unless he's performing work for the Observants. Social calls are rare to nonexistent, Phantom has to go and visit his clock tower whenever he wants to speak to the time ghost. As if to accentuate that point the usual smile that often adorns his blue face is absent and replaced by a small frown.

Instead of speaking Clockwork simply pulled his hand out from behind his back, producing a beat up-looking Fenton thermos with a face print on one side and a huge hole near the cap. It almost looked like something had exploded outward and made the ghost-resistant alloy peel back against the outer coating. Phantom's eyes widened, blood freezing in his veins as he stared at the familiar thermos.

"When?" he whispered.

"Less than half an hour ago, it was still intact when I left for a meeting with the Observants but was like this when I returned. The thermos appears to have been damaged in your battle with him; he was steadily sucking up energy from the small crack in his prison and waited until I was gone to escape."

"Where is he?" Phantom asked.

"Not far, he can gather more energy here than in the human realm, enough to completely regenerate himself to his full power," Clockworks eyes briefly shifted behind Phantom and the ghost teen didn't have to turn to know what he was looking at.

Phantom nodded, running a frustrated hand through his messy white locks. "I know…" the ghost teen sighed before turning on his heel and flying back over to the shuttle where the last passenger was already boarding. He stuck his head through the still-open door, "Everyone you need to get back to the caves."

"But we all just got on!" Cassie called back, crossing her arms with an angry huff.

"Yea why do you want us out so quickly ghost?" Jack shouted, hand groping instinctively for the absent gun at his belt while his wife's hold on the Fenton saber tightened.

"Look we're going to have to delay the trip something….came up."

Valarie's eyes narrowed at the odd change in tone at the end of his sentence. "What came up?" she challenged from where she had taken a seat next to Star.

The ghost boy ran a gloved hand through his white locks, looking frazzled and a bit nervous as his determined green eyes bore into hers. "No time to explain or argue, all you need to do is get back into those caves and stick with Frostbite and his people, they'll keep you safe."

An alarmed murmur went up through the crowd.

"Why do we need to be kept safe?" Maddie asked, stepping forward with the Fenton saber still clutched in one hand.

"I don't have time to explain alright!" Phantom shouted before turning back to the still-lingering yeti.

"Frostbite could you take care of them?"

The Ice King inclined his head humbly, "Of course Great One."

"Thanks."

With that Danny Phantom suddenly shot into the air, leaving it to the yeti to protect the small band of humans. Danielle, who had been saying her final farewells to some of the Far Frozen inhabitants that she'd befriended, took off to follow her cousin.

"What's wrong Danny?" she asked when she finally caught up to him at the arched entrance to the Far Frozen, slightly winded after trying to keep up with his enhanced speed. Apparently he'd improved a lot in the three years she'd been gone.

"Danielle I need you to go and stay with the others."

The ghost girl stared silently at her cousin, taking in his stiff jaw and shifty eyes. His posture was relaxed but wary, the same stance that he used whenever he was preparing for an attack.

"Is something coming?" she asked glancing around, seeing nothing but cold and icy rock.

"Yes and I need you and everyone else to stay in the caves with Frostbite and his people."

"There's no way I'm leaving you out here to fight alone," she said.

Phantom turned toward her and she involuntarily took a step back as she was met by his blazing green glare. "Danielle this isn't up for debate, go with the others."

She gulped and bobbed her head in a nod before turning and flying back down toward the shuttles. It wasn't a moment after she was out of sight that a deep chuckle permeated the air and Phantom turned just in time to catch the glowing green figure appearing through the entrance to the Far Frozen.

"Long time no see."


	4. Chapter 4

Phantom took off before Sam and Tucker had a chance to catch him and ask what was wrong. They had been the first out of the shuttle after he'd disappeared from the doorway. Being his best friends they'd immediately recognized the set of his jaw and the authority in his eyes, something was very wrong. It wasn't something small either, if it made Danny act that way. He was strong enough to take on just about any ghost in the Zone with minimal injury depending on the day. They were also in the Far Frozen; home of a small army of yeti's who would readily step up into battle if the Great One required their assistance.

It was also disconcerting that Clockwork had paid a visit. They could tell even from a distance that whatever the ghostly master of time had said to Phantom it wasn't good news. His body had gone still and rigid moments before he ran a frustrated hand roughly through his hair, something he only did when he was in extreme stress, insanely concerned, or frustrated. The glow of his eyes had been more pronounced when he'd told them all to exit the shuttles and hadn't even stayed to make sure that they all got off before flying away, which basically highlighted the fact that this was an immediate emergency.

Frostbite and the rest of the yeti were rushing people off the shuttles, ignoring Maddie's angry shouts demanding an explanation as they directed the group toward the cave. Clockwork was still there and floated down toward the cave entrance as if to oversee the humans as they were hustled inside. Some stared at the purple-clad ghost as they jogged past.

While it was true that Phantom had identified him as a friend it was also true that Phantom had a very strange shift in attitude after speaking with him so they were a bit wary of the clock ghost, if not frightened. Sam and Tucker rushed over to him, ignoring the stream of students that passed in favor of speaking to the time walker.

"What's going on? Where did Danny go?" Sam demanded, crossing her arms defiantly in front of her and narrowing her violet eyes in a very clear sign that she wouldn't take silence as an answer.

Wordlessly Clockwork held out the busted thermos as a form of explanation. Sam's eyebrows drew together in confusion for a few moments with Tucker mirroring her. "Daniel told you about this correct? The prisoner that was left under my care after his defeat at the hands of your friend?"

Both teen's eyes widened in realization. "B-but that's impossible!" Tucker cried out, taking a step back and eyeing the thermos like it was toxic, "How the heck did he escape?"

"Through a small crack in the container I'm afraid," Clockwork said.

"So Danny went to-"

"Fight Dan, yes."

"Who's Dan?" Valarie asked, eyeing Clockwork warily as she stepped away from the entrance to the cave to regard her two classmates, "And what do you mean Danny's going to fight him? Unless Phantom really did lie and he's here after all."

"What about Danny?" Maddie asked as she joined their discussion.

She had activated the Fenton saber and looked ready to pounce at any wrong move from the ghosts surrounding her and the people she was defending.

"Nothing!" Tucker blurted out, "We were just wondering if he was okay is all."

Valarie's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she had just opened her mouth to retort when Maddie's gaze zeroed in on the thermos still held in Clockworks outstretched palm. "What are you doing with Fenton property ghost scum?" she growled, leveling the saber at the time ghost who didn't look even slightly fazed by the threat.

Sam took a half-step in front of the saber, partially shielding Clockwork even though she knew that he could have had the weapon out of Maddie's hands in a fraction of a second if he wanted to. "It doesn't matter why he has it but we need to get into those caves now."

"But what if it's a trap, something set up by Phantom to-"

"If he wanted to kill us he would have done it while we were all sleeping last night or even when we'd first walked into the caves," Sam retorted, "I think we all know that if he wanted us dead we'd be dead regardless of anything anyone thinks to the contrary."

That made Maddie shut her mouth. It was true they were in the Ghost Zone, a specter's home turf, and almost completely without any weapons or means to defend themselves. Phantom had many chances to take them all out, especially while they'd slept.

"Guys!"

They all turned to see Danielle rushing toward them, stopping just short of careening into Sam and kicking up some snow as she slid to a halt. "Something's coming and Danny's going to fight it, I tried to help but he wouldn't let me he just told me to come back and stay with you," her eyes were wide and a bit scared as she dropped her gaze to her feet, "he's never looked at me like that before…"

Clockwork placed a hand on Dani's shoulder and she looked up at him. "This is a battle that Daniel has to fight on his own; the enemy that he faces is too strong for you Danielle."

"All the more reason that I should be helping him!"

The purple gloved hand squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, "If you were to fight this enemy there is no doubt that you would be either severely injured or killed, Daniel knows what he's doing he has defeated this enemy before."

"But he had the gauntlets and specter deflector when he did that," Tucker piped up.

A small quirk of a smile appeared on the time specters face, "You seem to be forgetting that he's gotten a lot stronger both in body and in spirit."

There was a sudden explosion and they all turned toward the entrance to the Far Frozen just in time to see the arch that they'd passed under crack down the middle and collapse to the ground. Several bright green flashes lit up the fog that had resulted from the kicked up snow.

"You all must get inside," Frostbite said, jogging up to the small group of humans loitering by the cave entrance, "the Great One is strong, he will be alright."

Maddie hesitated but ended up nodding, better to be in a cave than an open field where you're a sitting duck. She motioned that they all follow Jack and Mikey, who were the last to enter the cave. Valarie obliged but Sam and Tucker were more hesitant. It took Frostbite reaching out with his good arm and hustling them along for them to get moving. Maddie glared at the snow beast angrily; even though the yeti ghost had been friendly so far she didn't like him laying a hand on her charges.

The Ice King ignored her glare, while he would have liked to make the Great One's mother feel more at ease he knew that Lady Sam and Sir Tucker would not leave Phantom's line of sight without a bit of forceful prompting. The same was true of Danielle, which is why he shot Icetooth a look as he passed him when entering the cave. As his second in command the other yeti immediately understood and gave an almost imperceptible nod before moving to collect Lady Danielle and bring her inside with the others. Clockwork took up the rear and was the last to enter the cave, floating behind Icetooth and Danielle as they followed the rest of the group back to the dining room that they'd eaten in mere hours ago.

"What the heck is going on?" Dash said loudly, sounding confused and a little alarmed.

A tremor shook the cave, making the icicles on the ceiling rattle. Several people screamed. Frostbite released Sam and Tucker before crossing the room, making the humans scramble to get out of the way as he made it to the entrance where two yeti guards were standing. "We must seal the entrance, barricade the hallways and post guards here to defend the Great One's guests!"

The two yeti guards nodded and rushed off down the hallway. Maddie Fenton, wielding her Fenton saber dangerously, stepped up to Frostbite. As if sensing her presence the ice king turned just in time to have the blunt end of the saber shoved in his face just shy of his nose. Just like Clockwork the yeti didn't flinch, simply staring calmly down the hilt of the weapon and into the blazing violet eyes of the ghost huntress.

"Why are you sealing the exits and barricading us in ghost?" she hissed.

Another tremor shook the walls, making some of the icicles fall and crash to the floor like shattering glass. One of the girls screamed, drowning out the sound of several others cursing as they eyed the ceiling warily. Maddie pushed the weapon even closer, merely a half-inch from Frostbites face. " _What is going on?_ "

"I am not entirely sure myself Lady Huntress," Frostbite replied, "but I assure you that these precautions are temporary and for your own safety."

"How is trapping us here supposed to keep us safe?" Valarie shouted out.

The caves shook again and some of the bigger icicles dropped. Cassie and Paulina screamed, only barely managing to get out of the way of a rather large projectile when Aless grabbed their hoods and pulled them backwards. Both girls landed roughly on the ground but couldn't find it in themselves to complain when the icicle shattered, sending tiny shards shooting out in several directions.

Trev, who had been standing by the wall with Kate and Nathan, shouted out a warning and hopped out of the way, dodging a smaller icicle that would have gone through his foot. Thankfully he also stumbled into Kate, shoving them both away from a large chunk that hit the exact spot they'd been standing.

" _Princess and the Pauper!"_ Lancer shouted dancing from one foot to the other as two dozen small chunks of ice shattered around him.

The tremor subsided, leaving everyone shaken and wary. Maddie had jerked away from Frostbite to tackle Star moments before an icicle had split her skull open, dragging Valarie with her as they skidded across the floor and landed at the base of the wall, where Maddie continued to shield the girls until the shaking stopped.

The blue-clad huntress sprang to her feet, glancing around the room to make sure that everyone was alright and visibly relaxing when she saw that no one had gotten any obvious injuries. "Is everyone okay?" she shouted out just to make sure.

"We're good over here Mad's!" Jack shouted from the far corner, where he and Mikey had taken cover under one of the icy outcroppings that made up the second floor.

"Us too Mrs. F," Tucker shouted, he and Sam crawling out from under the table.

Trev, Nathan, Kate, Aless, Dash, Kwan and Rory called out that they were fine though Paulina and Cassie were a bit later to respond. Maddie turned to Valarie and Star, the former of which was helping the latter get to her feet. "What about you two? Are you alright?" Both girls nodded and the Fenton mother visibly relaxed, glad to know that everyone was safe.

"My Lord!" a yeti shouted as he skidded around the corner, "An intruder has breached our defenses, we are attempting to hold him back but he's forcing his way through!"

"Where is the Great One?" Frostbite replied, all authority as he rushed over to his subordinate.

"He is still fighting with the intruder but he appears to be injured."

Frostbite clenched his jaw and growled lowly, "Engage the intruder! Do not allow him to proceed any further and attempt to help the Great One; anyone not fighting should be taking care of the wounded or falling back to help defend the Great One's guests!"

The yeti hastily bowed before taking off down the hallway. Frostbite turned to Icetooth, "Defend them with your afterlife, I must go and assist the Great One."

Icetooth bowed to his lord, "On my service to you I will not fail."

Frostbite nodded before turning and rushing out the door, barking at the guards to keep an eye out as he passed them. Once the yeti ghost disappeared from sight Icetooth turned to the frightened group, "Alright everyone take cover in the back corner I will ensure your safety from here on out!"

"And how can we trust you?" Maddie shouted, clutching the Fenton saber that she'd retrieved from the floor after the last tremor.

"Don't worry," Danielle said, floating beside the yeti ghost, "we can trust him."

"One ghost vouching for another, yea that makes him more trustworthy," Jack retorted with a derisive snort.

Sam stepped forward, hands on her hips and violet eyes blazing, "Well what if we vouched for him?" she said, motioning between her and Tucker.

"How would you know to-" Maddie started before being cut off by another tremor.

"Questions later survival now!" Sam shouted as she made her way over to the indicated safe zone.

The others quickly followed and after a few moments of hesitation Maddie jogged after them, meeting up with her husband and a still-injured Mikey halfway.

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

"Long time no see," Dan said, stepping out of the darkness.

Nothing appeared to have changed in the three years since they'd last seen each other. White-blue flames blazed atop Dan's head and down the back of his neck in a familiar low ponytail reminiscent of his evil-half's original human counterpart. The flames highlighted his blue complexion and crimson iris's, which looked perfect on him in a borderline demonic sort of way.

"Not nearly long enough," Phantom spat back, allowing green ecto-energy to build up in his palms, "what are you doing out of the thermos?"

Dan chuckled lowly and floated down to the ground allowing his white boots to sink into the snow as he landed. "Well it always was a little cramped in there, the other ghosts did complain about that whenever they got out."

The fanged grin that Dan had been sporting dropped into a frown, red eyes narrowing as his crossed arms fell to his sides and lit up with green ecto-energy a shade brighter than Phantom's. "I really should shove you in there too, judging by your appearance your pathetic little family and friends survived the explosion didn't they?"

Phantom didn't answer but the set of his jaw and added fire to his already blazing green eyes was enough to confirm the inquiry. The fanged smirk returned, slightly more malicious, "I'll make sure that they go this time, by my own hands."

"You'll have to get through me before you can get to them!" Phantom growled.

"Oh trust me, I intend to," Dan replied before shooting forward and attempting to land an ecto-charged uppercut to Phantom's jaw.

Phantom ducked and tried to blast the super powered specter in the gut with his pre-charged blasts. The shots missed, passing harmlessly through the hole that Dan had formed in the center of his chest. Phantom made to jump away but wasn't quick enough; a black gloved-hand snagged the collar of his suit and heaved him over his opponents head.

The younger fighter turned in midair and shot another blast that nailed Dan seconds before he hit the ground, springing to his feet and shooting another energy blast to follow up. Dan wasn't fazed by the earlier bull's eye and stuck out his arm to block the second round, which was quickly followed by a barrage of smaller shots and one more concentrated blast that exploded on contact, sending Dan spiraling back into the snow.

Phantom charged the flame-haired specter, both fists glowing with ecto-energy in preparation for the hit. Dan saw the attack coming and sidestepped, grabbing ahold of both the ghost teen's arms and using the momentum to spin nearly 180 degrees and heave Phantom back into the snow, shooting a ghost stinger after him.

Rolling with the hit Phantom managed to get clear of the attack and retaliate with an ecto-ray, which Dan readily countered with his own shield. The ghost teen's eyes shifted from radioactive green to icy blue an instant before the ecto-ray transformed into an ice beam that solidified around Dan's shield. Bright green flames sprang to life on the surface of the shield, melting the ice just in time to block another explosion. This one knocked Dan off his feet, making him pile drive into the snow and leave a sizable dent.

The future Phantom heaved himself out of the hole just as his past self launched another snow coated ecto-bomb, which Dan dodged by splitting himself into a pair of duplicates. Both shot forward and delivered two perfectly timed punches, one Phantom managed to block while the other slammed into his gut. The halfa catapulted backwards and slammed into the wall of the hundred foot ice cave that served as the entrance to the Far Frozen. Phantom coughed and fell to his knees, hands wrapping around his waist to cradle the injury.

"Looks like you've learned a few new tricks," Dan said, floating easily over to Phantom with an amused gleam in his crimson orbs, "still not enough to be a match for me."

The ghost teen lifted his head, a thin trail of ectoplasm running from the corner of his mouth and down his chin. "I think I was more than a match last time considering that you're the one who ended up shoved in that stupid thermos"

Dan frowned and reached down to wrap his hand around Phantom's throat, lifting him off the ground. Even with his growth spurt the halfa was a few inches shorter than his alternate future self, and the evil ghost had no problems holding him a foot off the ground to prove that he was stronger in both body and skill. Phantom's hands wrapped around the wrist cutting off his air supply, an angry growl bubbling up his throat despite the lack of oxygen.

Without preamble Dan shoved Phantom against the wall, forcing the side of his head to grind against the coarse rock of the cave. The ghost teen grunted and tightened his grip on his assailant's wrist, energy pulsing under his skin in response to the pain. Bright green eyes snapped open a moment before that energy was released; creating a shockwave that knocked Dan back and subsequently made him release his grip on the halfa.

Phantom shot forward, one arm wrapped around Dan's waist and shoved him up against the opposite wall while the opposite hand curled into a fist and struck the older ghost in the face. Dan grunted, red eyes narrowing as he teleported behind Phantom and struck him in the back of the head before following up with a ghost stinger.

The ghost teen cried out as the ecto-electricity coursed through him, he'd developed somewhat of a tolerance for it since his half-death and the continued use of the method by his many foes but it was still extremely painful, especially with such high voltage. Phantom shifted as Dan shoved him forward and kicked out a leg, hitting his alternate future self square in the gut and sending him tumbling off his feet.

With a sweep of his hand another barrage of ecto-blasts filled the air and Dan barely had time to throw up a shield, kicking up a spray of snow that would have blinded a normal human. Both the brawlers were ghosts though, night vision may not come standard but exceptionally good eyesight usually did.

Phantom took off into the sky, getting into the open air outside the cave to make him better able to dodge attacks. With someone like Dan it wasn't a good idea to take too many hits, especially when a powered down version of his best left hook could flatten a small town with relative ease. The snow started to settle and Phantom kept his eyes locked on the dispersing cloud. Less than a second later his sight was blocked by a familiarly stylized DP symbol roughly an inch from his nose. Emerald eyes widened as Dan's fist plowed into the side of his head and sent him spiraling into the recently built arch that marked the entrance to the Far Frozen.

It split down the center from the force of the hit and Phantom crashed to the ground underneath it, kicking up an even larger cloud of snow in addition to the undoubtedly large crater created from the force of the impact. _'I have to remember to apologize to Frostbite later…'_ Phantom thought fleetingly as he sat up, unable to suppress a small groan at the throbbing in his temples.

He appeared out of the fog almost immediately, hands glowing as he launched several rounds of ecto-blasts at his younger self. Phantom countered with his own ecto-blasts, springing out of the crater and taking off in a dead run to try and keep some distance between them. Their blasts met in mid-air, creating mini-explosions that bathed the battle ground in bursts of toxic green light.

Taking advantage of the confusion Phantom thrust his hands forward, several dagger-sharp ice shards flying from his fingertips toward Dan, who created a wall of fire that melted the projectiles easily. A wave of his hand made the flaming shield shoot forward. With no time to dodge Phantom wrapped himself in a shield of ice. It melted as the fire passed over it but the ghost teen remained unscathed. Dan covered the space between them and grabbed Phantom's arm as the last of his shield melted, twisting it painfully behind his back.

"You know you can't beat me," he said while Phantom grunted with the effort of attempting to struggle free. His shoulder had healed hours ago from both the burns and muscle damage which was good considering that Dan was pretty close to dislocating it. As if to stress this point his grip tightened on Phantom's arm, practically a hair's breath away from shattering his wrist.

"Remember that I'm still here, I still exist, so you still turn into me."

"I didn't turn into you before," Phantom ground out, "And I won't now!"

Dan's eyes narrowed and he pivoted, spinning the ghost teen around and sending him flying across the vacant clearing, into the rough cliffs that housed the network of caves making up the heart of the Far Frozen. The rate of acceleration made Phantom's shoulder slam painfully against a particularly sharp outcropping and slice a new gash into his flesh. The ghost teen cried out and clutched the wound as he slumped against the wall, breath coming out in short pants as he tried to work his mind past the initial shock and pain.

Dan landed lightly in front of him, one hand glowing bright green as he unleashed an ecto-ray so powerful that it sent Phantom careening through the ground, rock and snow crumbling on all sides. He threw up a hasty shield and waited for the rubble to settle before letting lose a burst of energy that threw all the debris off his makeshift defense and enabled him to stand, glancing around briefly to orient himself. The attack had sent the ghost teen through approximately three stories of stone and into the main tunnel at ground level which sloped down further into the underground compound.

"Great One!"

Phantom turned to see a trio of yeti's holding ice spears rushing toward him. "No! Go back! Don't come-"

Dan appeared in front of the ghost teen and punched him in the face making the halfa reel backwards with a grunt of pain and run into the wall. The older Phantom wrapped his gloved hand around the ghost teen's throat, his opposite palm lighting up with ecto-energy.

"This might sting a little," he said, the fanged grin once again present on his face as he brought his arm a bit further back. A sudden burst of ice nailed Dan from behind, making him roar out in anger, pain or both as he whipped around to face the three yeti who had rushed to the scene moments ago. Phantom slumped to the ground and was just barely able to make out one of the three snow beasts with his arm still extended and the ice spear jutting out of Dan's back.

Twisting his arm around the alternate future Phantom gripped the weapon and tore it away, making ectoplasm gush from the wound a moment before it closed up due to his rapid healing and regenerative capabilities. The ice spear snapped in his hand and melted to vapor as green flames sprang to life. Eyes glowing a bright crimson the enraged ghoul took a menacing step forward. All three yeti stood ready in battle stances, the one who had been previously unarmed remaking his weapon and standing with his brethren against the enemy.

Dan raised both hands, green fire sparking at his fingertips before becoming a full blaze that engulfed the entire corridor. Phantom could hear the panicked shouts of the Far Frozen inhabitants and felt rage build up within him. Before he knew it he'd launched himself forward and tackled Dan, wrenching the angered specter off his feet and sending both of them tumbling to the floor. Phantom recovered first and brought his heel down onto Dan's temple, quickly following up with a point-blank ecto-blast to the face.

The evil Phantom grunted and shot out blindly with a long chain of ecto-energy that wrapped around the ghost teens ankle. Jerking his arm roughly Dan sent Phantom crashing into the wall, making the entire cave shake with the force of the impact. Blinking the dots from his vision Dan gave another rough tug on the rope and sent the halfa careening to the other side of the cave, creating another tremor as he left an indentation in the rock.

Phantom slumped to the ground, mind hazy from repeated hits to the skull and desperately trying to keep from passing out as Dan stood from where he was sitting on the floor and gave a rough jerk of the line. His younger self groaned lightly as he was pulled toward the center of the cave nearly unconscious and covered in wounds.

"You still have a long way to go," Dan said, "and the only way to get there is by getting rid of that pesky humanity of yours, it's only holding you back you know."

A crooked grin pulled at the evil Phantom's face as he kneeled down next to his younger counterpart. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that everything, or should I say _everyone_ , that's holding you back are well taken care of."

The teen ghost hero gritted his teeth, making more ectoplasm drip from the corner of his mouth. He attempted to raise his hand and blast Dan with more ecto-energy but it just slumped back to the ground. The older ghoul noticed and chuckled in amusement at his past's vein attempts at retaliation. "It's useless, I'm unbeatable and you of all people should know that."

Phantom spat out a mouthful of ectoplasm, nailing Dan in the eye. The evil specter lifted a hand to wipe the green blood away from his face before backhanding his younger self. The teen hero coughed roughly, spewing more ectoplasm on the crumbled stones beside him as the hacking fit subsided.

"You shouldn't get so cocky; it wouldn't take much to destroy you at this point."

"Then what happens to you?" Phantom asked.

"Well you heard Clockwork, I exist outside of time" Dan replied, "It's more than a little likely that whether or not you die doesn't affect me one way or the other but I would still prefer not to kill you, better safe than sorry right?"

The evil ghoul stood up and let go of the ecto rope still tied around Phantom's ankle before turning on his heel and walking toward the scorched hallway. "About time I went searching for your friends and family, got an old score to settle after all."

He disappeared around the corner, several screams and explosions sounding seconds after he was gone. Phantom gritted his teeth, forcing his vision to clear as he heaved himself into a sitting position. He was panting and bleeding in several places. If he had stopped to think about it he probably would have realized that his shoulder was gushing ectoplasm and his ribs were aching like an infected tooth ache but his anger overrode reason and forced him to his feet. The need to protect coursed through him along with the adrenaline, giving him the strength that he needed to feel his way along the wall, floating to keep the weight off his injured foot.

The noise had gotten substantially quieter, almost like whoever was making it had moved further down into the tunnels and upon peering around the corner Phantom discovered that's exactly what happened. Scorch marks lined the walls and several yeti lay sprawled out all across the tunnel.

"Great One…"

Phantom turned to see WinterDagger slumped against the far wall, half an ice staff lying beside his slackened claws. The ghost teen floated over and knelt down beside him, wincing slightly as the movement aggravated his wounds. "Which way did he go?" Phantom asked. Lifting a trembling arm WinterDagger pointed to a passage a little further down, just barely accessible through the pile of rocks that had collapsed in front of the entrance. "He's heading for your guests…Lord Frostbite has mounted a defense but we aren't sure how long it can hold…"

Phantom nodded and reached out his uninjured hand to squeeze WinterDagger's shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll stop him. A medic will come in a minute so make sure to hang on until then alright."

The yeti smiled weakly but inclined his head in recognition of the authority in the Great One's tone. "I will make sure to do so Great One."

Smiling confidently Phantom gave the yeti's shoulder a light pat before he heaved himself to his feet again and proceeded to the passage. _'Time to take down a blast from my past.'_

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

Icetooth had formed a roughly constructed shield above their heads to prevent any icicles from impaling them while they cowered in the back of the room. Sam was less than pleased about having to stay and wait while her boyfriend was in a death match with arguably the most powerful enemy he'd ever faced and was only barely kept from rushing off to help him by Tucker, who continuously whispered logical reassurances in her ear to make sure that she didn't do anything that would get her killed. Danny trusted the techno geek to keep his gothic angel safe whenever he wasn't around after all and there was no way in hell he would ever hear the end of it if he let her go out in the middle of this seriously deadly brawl.

All the A-listers had gathered at the very furthest corner of their shelter, cowering together in a small group tossing out theories about what was going on in short murmured conversations that could barely be missed in the resounding silence of the room.

Everyone else was sandwiched somewhere between the A-listers and the Fenton parents who were closest to the entrance but still shielded behind Icetooth. The yeti had elected to stand in front of them and use his bulk to obscure most of the room from their view though if Maddie inclined her head slightly to the left she was able to see the door, where two yeti stood guard.

The tremors had stopped some time ago though every once in a while the silence would be broken by yeti rushing down the corridor, often carrying or dragging wounded with them down the hall to the medical room. This was truly the only indication that anything was going on and if the injuries those yeti were sporting was indicative of the danger then hiding didn't seem like such a bad idea.

It took another handful of minutes before the two yeti guarding the door shouted and took off down the hall. Icetooth tensed as shouting and explosions were heard, quickly followed by one of the two guards flying backwards past the door and landing somewhere further down the hall, his shattered ice spear clattering to the floor at the entrance to the room.

The sounds quieted for a few tense seconds before a figure stepped into the room. He was tall and muscular with flaming hair and a calm yet malevolent demeanor that warned anyone with an ounce of self-preservation to stay away. Crimson eyes briefly assessed the room before landing on their small hideout, a fanged grin splitting his face as he took a few smooth steps toward them. Icetooth pulled out a wicked looking curved dagger from nowhere and rose to his feet, stepping far enough out of their hiding place to allow him free movement while still shielding those inside.

"What business do you have here?" the yeti demanded, wielding the dagger threateningly in front of him.

The new ghost stopped and stared in what appeared to be mild amusement at the dagger. Wordlessly he lifted a single black gloved hand and swiped it to the side. A green aura surrounded Icetooth and he was catapulted in the same direction, slamming roughly against the wall as a tendril of ecto-energy snaked from the strangers fingertips to wrap around the yeti's body and keep in him place. Icetooth growled and struggled but was unable to break free.

The newcomer's grin widened, eyes resting on Icetooth for a moment as if admiring his work before he turned back to the group of humans cowering in the corner. Maddie clutched her Fenton saber and shifted into a crouched position when the ghost took a step closer.

"That little toy won't help you," he said, eyes zeroed in on the glowing green staff.

"But ecto-blasts will!" Danielle shouted as she fired a pair of twin blasts simultaneously from both hands.

The ghost raised a hand, blocking both shots without erecting an ecto shield. "Well this is a surprise, who might you be?" he asked, eyeing her with mild curiosity dancing in his crimson irises.

"Dani Phantom," she replied, already forming another blast between her hands, "about to be the girl who kicks your butt."

"I wasn't aware that there was more than one, should I take a wild guess and say that Plasmius had something to do with it?"

Dani faltered for a moment but launched the ecto energy anyway. The ghost sidestepped, moving almost comically slow in response. "Should have figured that cheese head would do something like this, he always was a little twisted."

In a flash he was standing directly in front of the ghost girl, gripping her wrist and flinging her across the room. She hit the wall with a resounding crack and slumped to the floor, half-lidded green eyes glaring angrily at the ghoul. He turned back to the others just as Maddie sprang forward with the Fenton saber. A single hand came up to catch the weapon mid-swing and hold it still even as the ghost huntress attempted to jerk it out of his grasp. Steam rose from his palm before green fire incinerated the saber and made it crumple to ashes at both their feet. Maddie reeled back while Jack sprang up, shouting at everyone to stand back while he came to his wife's side. Sam and Tucker pulled out their ecto pistols and rushed forward to take aim at the ghost. Valarie, though weaponless, wasn't one to miss out on a fight and stood up with clenched fists ready for an attack. Everyone else wisely shrunk back against the walls.

"Well look at that the gang's all here," the ghost said, eyes moving over the crowd of students, ghost hunters, and lone teacher, "even a few people who weren't the first time."

"Where's Danny?" Sam demanded.

Crimson eyes zeroed in on the Goth for a few seconds before lighting up with understanding, his toothy smirk widened. "Oh, a lot seems to have changed since I've been away huh Sam? Seems like he finally told you how he feels."

" _Where is he!?"_ Sam shouted, cocking the pistol she was holding and hovering her finger over the trigger in silent warning.

"The Danny you know is probably lying beaten in one of the corridors, I did do a number on him before I came here after all."

"Danny? You did something to our son?" Maddie shrieked, looking angrier then she had throughout the duration of their trip as she imagined this spectral entity of post-human consciousness injuring her boy.

The ghost threw his head back and laughed loudly before turning back to Sam and Tucker, "They still don't know do they? Should have known that he wouldn't have the guts to tell them."

Both teens flinched at the accusation and felt Jack and Maddie's questioning gazes burning into their heads. Sam took a step forward and Tucker tensed, finger squeezing the trigger just in case the future disaster decided to make a move for her. With a flick of his wrist both ecto pistols were wrenched from their hands, skittering across the floor to land at Icetooth's feet. Before either could react a line of ghostly energy had wrapped around Sam's wrist and yanked her forward.

Dan grabbed her and hefted her up to eye level, grinning madly as she shouted profanities and struggled to get free. Maddie, Valarie and Tucker all moved at once only to receive a telekinetic shove from the evil ghoul and fall back against the rough floor. Jack, who was slower to react, tried to tackle the ghost but was also tossed easily off his feet.

"Let's start with you shall we," Dan said, gathering flaming green energy in his free hand and grinning wickedly at Sam. Her violet eyes bugged, reflecting the light of the flames as they drew nearer to her face…

"LET HER GO YOU PIECE OF ECTOPLASMIC SCUM!"

They all turned to see Danny Phantom standing in the doorway. His right arm was hanging uselessly at his side, the shoulder covered in ectoplasm and seemingly bent a bit out of socket. There were scorch marks on the front of his hazmat and several long cuts running up and down his arms and legs. A forming bruise was present on his cheek along with a sizable cut above his left eye that was still oozing. They could also make out a thin trail of ectoplasm leaking from the corner of his mouth and dripping onto the floor. Overall he looked terrible but his injuries weren't what had everyone's attention.

It was a rare sight to see Amity's resident town hero truly angry. As a matter of fact over ninety-eight percent of the population had only seen his heroic yet comical side, the one that he usually displayed when fending off the never ending ghost invasions that plagued their town. This is why it startled them to see the green fire burning in his eyes, making them almost blindingly bright in contrast to their usual pleasant glow.

Dan smirked and turned to face Phantom, still clutching Sam's wrist in his tight grip. She winced and squashed the involuntary whimper that attempted to leave her lips, which only seemed to make Phantom angrier.

"I said _put her down_!" he spat.

The evil ghoul kept grinning even as he lowered Sam to the ground and released her wrist. She yanked it away and took a step back, violet eyes never leaving Dan as she absentmindedly rubbed the abused skin. All of a sudden Dan's hand was glowing radioactive green, flames dancing along his fingers, and without even looking he fired. "No!" Phantom shouted, shooting across the room faster than most thought was physically possible, pushing Sam out of the way right as the blast hit where she would have been standing. It hit the ghost teen instead, nailing him in the side and sending him spiraling backward into the wall.

Everyone watched wide-eyed as Dan took three long strides to stand in front of his past self, hoisting him back to his feet by the front of his shirt. Cocking a fist the evil Phantom drove it into the halfa's gut, making the teen hero pitch forward and cough up another mouthful of ectoplasm.

"Danny!" Sam shouted, finally shocked out of her stupor as she scrambled to stand and rush to her boyfriend's side.

"S-stay back!" Phantom shouted without taking his eyes off Dan.

Tucker grabbed Sam as she tried to rush past him, restraining both her arms even as she tried to elbow him in the face and gut screaming about having to get to Phantom, to help him.

"You have been busy lately," Dan said, "got yourself a girlfriend, managed to learn a few new tricks, even got yourself a copy thanks to the Fruit Loop."

Phantom's eyes narrowed, he hated it when people referred to Danielle as his 'copy' or 'clone' instead of a cousin or little sister. He had no clue how Dan knew but wasn't all that surprised. His evil future self wasn't stupid, just tremendously overconfident and borderline cocky at times.

"I'm never going to turn into you," Phantom said firmly.

Dan laughed humorously and tightened his grip on the front of Phantom's shirt, making the teen ghost grunt in pain. "That's what you think, all that I have to do is take out a few people and your entire future will go up in smoke."

"I'll never let that happen."

"You let it happen before."

Phantom flinched.

"There's no way that you could've saved them with your diminished power levels, if I had to guess I would say that Clockwork helped you, meddlesome as he is, and if it weren't for him then you would already be me."

Phantom's hands glowed an eerie green that matched his eyes, energy rippling underneath his skin like an electric current before discharging in the form of an ecto-beam. It hit Dan square in the chest and sent him backwards. Phantom took the chance to shoot forward and land a solid hit to the older ghost's jaw with his good hand, quickly followed by a swift kick to the gut.

Dan grasped his wrist right as he fired another ecto-blast, making it miss by a mile before he swung around and tossed Phantom into the air. The evil specter inhaled deeply and let out an ear splitting ghostly wail that shook the entire compound. Everyone covered their ears as the sound waves rattled the walls and made large chunks of loose ceiling fall to the floor. They all scrambled under the ice shield that Icetooth had erected, watching with wide eyes as Phantom threw up a hasty ecto-shield to try and protect himself from the onslaught.

It died down after nearly a full minute and Phantom came crashing down, landing in the midst of several huge pieces of rocky debris. Moments after the green energy of the shield dissipated and the ghost hero collapsed to his knees, panting heavily as a pair of blue-white rings appeared at his waist, disappearing just as quickly.

"You really have gotten better," Dan commented, "though you're still too weak."

The ghost teen heaved himself to his feet, still glaring toxic green daggers at his enemy. He launched himself forward, sending a wave of icicles at the ghoul. They missed and Dan appeared in front of Phantom, fist blazing.

The ghost boy just barely had enough time to take a deep breath and wail. It was point blank and impossible to escape with such little notice. Dan was sent careening backwards through the ceiling with Phantom following close behind, firing ice and ecto blasts alternately and repeatedly as he chased the flame-haired specter. Utilizing a sudden burst of speed Phantom was able to catch up with Dan, who was still partially stunned and attempting to correct himself in the air, and plant both feet firmly on his back before releasing an intense ecto-blast from his good hand and sending evil specter back through the stone and into the wrecked dining room.

The alternate evil Phantom had already gotten to his feet by the time the ghost boy came flying back through the hole he'd created, looking a bit worse for the wear but still in fighting condition. "You still can't beat me no matter how much you struggle or how hard you try you will still turn into me."

"Danny!" Sam shouted, taking the Fenton thermos from his backpack and throwing it to him from across the room.

Dan's hand lit up with green fire as he shot a blast at the spiraling thermos, only to be intercepted by Phantom's ecto-blast. The resulting explosion sent the thermos off course and Phantom dove for it, catching it in midair and twisting the cap off. "I thought I told you before…" Phantom shouted, pressing the button and causing a beam of pure white and blue light to shoot out of the cylindrical containment device, instantly sucking the evil ghost inside. Phantom slammed the cap down and twisted it with an audible click, "…I promised them that I wouldn't."

The ghost teen stumbled as he tried to catch his balance upon landing, tripping over his injured foot and falling to his knees. Sam and Tucker crossed the room in an instant, the former dropping into a crouch beside him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You are so dead ghost boy, I'm gonna finish killing you for making me worry this much…" she whispered.

Phantom's light chuckling turned into a course cough as he let his uninjured hand rest against her waist. "I'm glad you're safe too Sam…"

Green eyes turned to Tucker, who was wearing a relieved half-grin. "Thanks for watching out for everyone man, I owe you." Translation: 'Thanks for keeping her from doing anything stupid and potentially deadly.' Tucker waved his hand dismissively, "Pay my tab at the Nasty Burger and we're even."

Phantom laughed outright and Sam momentarily forgot her concern for the ghost teen in favor of whipping around to stare incredulously at the smirking techno geek. "Tuck not even I would be able to do you that favor."

The dark skinned teen shrugged his shoulders in turn, "Hey it's not like the job wasn't big enough I think it's the least he owes me."

Sam opened her mouth to deliver another retort only to be interrupted by Phantom who quickly replied, "I'll see what I can do Tuck."

"Great One!"

Everyone turned to see Frostbite limping into the room, his right foot was encased in ice up to the knee and he was using a makeshift ice cane to move. A half dozen more yeti ambled behind him in similar states of injury and disarray. Icetooth, having been freed from Dan's control, had long since rushed over to where Danielle was lying slumped against the wall and hefted her into his arms. She hissed a bit at the contact but managed a watery smile, trying to reassure that she wasn't gravely injured.

Frostbite's gaze flicked briefly to his second in command before he jerked his head toward the door in a silent message to get Danielle to the healer. Jaw set, Icetooth nodded and brushed past the others to head down the hall. With him gone the Ice King's eyes zeroed in on Phantom, who appeared to be the most gravely injured, if not the only injured, person in the room.

Ignoring the terrified and shocked gazes of the rest of the humans the yeti ghost walked over to the ghost teen and his friends. "Great One are you alright?" Frostbite asked, stopping just in front of the trio, who were still sitting on the pile of rubble.

Phantom smiled, though it looked strained, "I'm alright, what about you and the others?"

"All of our men are fine; some injuries are severe but nothing fatal."

The halfa pulled himself to his feet with a grunt of pain, good arm clutching the injured one while he tried to keep his weight off his bad foot. Sam stood up with him and placed both hands lightly on his uninjured shoulder, scolding him for straining himself. Phantom could barely hear her through the ringing in his ears. The adrenaline that had been keeping him going and screening most of the pain was fast fading and he could feel the sting of each and every wound as the full brunt of the injuries hit him.

He had long since lost feeling in his injured arm, which was good in that it gave him a reprieve from at least some of the pain and bad because losing feeling in any appendage was never a good sign. The ribs that had been healing mere hours ago were definitely broken this time and Phantom didn't dare breathe in too deeply. Somewhere in his hazy mind he realized that Frostbite's lips were moving, his brow creasing together as Phantom swayed on his feet. Suddenly Sam was in front of him, he could vaguely feel her tiny hands on his arm and it reassured him to know that she was there.

Dark spots started to appear in the corners of his vision and he suddenly doubled forward, spitting a mouthful of ectoplasm on one of the rocks at Frostbites feet. He fell to his knees, breathing in uneven gasps as he struggled to control the sudden rush of pain. Through the throbbing in his temples he could vaguely hear shouting and his vision went dark just as a pair of yeti came rushing forward.


	5. Chapter 5

Phantom paled when he stood, eyes going hazy as he swayed on his feet for a few silent moments. He didn't look like he was listening to Frostbite or Sam when she shifted closer and asked whether or not he was alright. The Ice King had just turned to call out for one of his less injured men to carry the ghost teen to the medical ward when Phantom lurched forward and coughed up a mouthful of ectoplasm, collapsing at their feet.

"Danny!" Sam shouted dropping to her knees to hover over him as his breathing became erratic. Frostbite turned and roared for his men, who came rushing forward just as a ring of blue-white energy appeared around the ghost teen's waist. Everyone watched as the ring split and traveled up and down Phantom's slumped form, which had started to topple as soon as the ring appeared. He disappeared behind a two foot tall pile of rocks before the brightest flash of bluish white blinded half the room, fading as quickly as it had come.

"Hurry up!" Sam howled as two yeti rushed forward. One dropped down to his knees and briefly examined the wounds on the young boy's prone form before turning to the other yeti. "Take him to the medical ward now!" he shouted and the yeti complied, scooping him up as gently and quickly as he was able. A collective gasp went through the crowd of watching humans.

Instead of the town hero, as they had been expecting, the yeti was carrying Danny Fenton. They only managed to catch a glimpse of him as the yeti turned and ran for the door but it was enough. His white t-shirt was stained green with small splotches of red mixed in. Trails of crimson ran down his scarred arms and dripped on the floor as he was rushed to the healer. Sam followed quickly after while Tucker and Frostbite remained.

"Anyone fit search the tunnels for more injured and help them to the infirmary!" the Ice King shouted as he turned to his men, "once that's done procure food and rest, you have all earned it."

The remaining four yeti inclined their heads and turned to rush down the hall, the opposite way that the yeti had taken Danny. Frostbite turned to Tucker, "I must go and direct my men, call if you need anything and any injured are more than welcome in the infirmary."

The techno geek nodded, "Got it, thanks."

Frostbite limped into the hall and headed to the medical ward. Tucker let out a deep exhale before turning to the gathering of humans. Those who had remained hidden under the protection of the makeshift ice shield had all come out and were staring wide eyed at the techno geek. Normally their astonished looks would have made him laugh but not today.

Maddie was the first to break out of her trance and she rushed forward to stand in front of Tucker. "Danny…was that…?"

The dark skinned boy simply nodded, "Yes, Danny Fenton and Phantom are the same person."

"…How?" she breathed.

Tuckers eyes shifted briefly to the growing crowd behind the ghost huntress, licking his suddenly chapped lips, "Electrocution and exposure to high levels of ectoplasmic energy."

Maddie sucked in a breath and took an involuntary step back. Her husband's large hand came up to rest on her shoulder and she leaned into him unconsciously as the horror washed over her. "Is he…dead?" Jack asked when it became clear that Maddie was too shocked to say any more.

"No, at least not completely," he said.

"What do you mean?"

Tucker hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I think you need to ask Danny when he wakes up."

"Danny," Maddie said, "Will he be alright? All those wounds and the ghost-"

"It's alright Mrs. F," Tucker said, "Danny…he heals a lot faster than the rest of us and he's strong, it's not like it's the first time he's gotten injured."

Maddie seemed to recoil at that, "Were any of those injuries…from us?" she asked.

The techno geek eyed the ghost hunting parents for a moment, pursing his lips together in thought. "No," he said finally, "you never hurt him."

The Fenton mother seemed to sag in relief with that as she leaned more heavily against her husband. Jack's shoulders also seemed to relax at the admission. "Can we see him?" Jack asked. Tucker shook his head, "Better not, the medical ward is probably full of wounded yeti and Snowdrift will just shout if we bother him while he's working. Sam's with him, he'll be okay." The couple looked like they wanted to protest but didn't, nodding in barely forced acceptance before wandering over to the edge of the crowd.

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For Dash time seemed to stop when the yeti stood with Danny Fenton in his arms. The quarterback, along with everyone else, had been fully expecting to see a head of white hair and the tanned face of their town hero. It took a minute for his mind to fully process the new information. Somewhere deep down he realized that it made a lot of sense, the way that Fenton had acted when they'd first crashed, his strange tolerance for pain, attacking the ghosts without a hint of fear or hesitation, the athletic prowess, all the scars. Even the name: Danny _Fenton_ , Danny _Phantom_. If this new revelation hadn't sent his mind on an all-expense paid trip to nowhere the jock might've slapped himself for his stupidity.

They looked alike.

Same first name.

Never in the same place at the same time.

' _How has nobody ever noticed?'_ he wondered, vaguely aware of the yeti carrying Danny from the room. Blood speckled the floor beneath the furry creature's steps and a chill went down the quarterback's spine. Once the injured teen was out of the room along with his Goth girlfriend all eyes turned to the snow beast and the only remaining person with any answers – Fenton's best friend Tucker Foley.

The techno geek seemed to know exactly what they wanted as he turned to address them almost before they started moving toward him. Tucker's usual playful smile and witty quips were gone, replaced with a stoic and almost resigned look that nobody would have associated with the mouthy nerd a few days ago.

Dash's mind swirled with questions and the urge to bombard the nerd with them was almost overwhelming but Maddie beat him to the punch when she asked for confirmation, to which Tucker nodded and stated that Danny Fenton and Phantom were in fact the same person. Nobody could really wrap their minds around it fully until Tucker verbalized it, making a strange tension grip them all. A few people gasped quietly while others just got wide-eyed. Dash was one of the latter, standing like a deer in the headlights as Maddie asked the million dollar question: _How?_

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Mr. Lancer considered himself an accomplished educator. He always tried his best to be understanding and help his students whenever possible but in the last few minutes it seemed like everything he'd always thought about his methods and abilities was in question. How had one of his students _died_ right under his nose? How hadn't he noticed that one of his students was a _ghost_?

' _Well this explains the periodic absences, injuries, and numerous bathroom breaks,'_ he thought wryly, _'how didn't I notice?'_

How didn't anyone notice for that matter? Now that he thought about it they were so alike, same face and voice (minus the strange echo present in Phantom's tone), same first name. He tried to think of more but nothing came. _'They have different hair and eye color, Phantom is tanner, and they act differently…'_

The differences were also numerous. Aside from their mannerisms and difference in coloring though there wasn't much…other than the fact that one is supposed to be dead and the other is supposed to be living. It makes a bit of sense when you think of things like that. Who would ever suspect the famed ghost teen hero of Amity Park to be a junior at Casper High, especially someone as average as Danny Fenton?

Lancers mind was racing a mile a minute trying to connect the puzzle pieces – which seemed to not want to fit together no matter the overwhelming evidence - when Maddie asked the question, effectively shattering the portly vice principals thought process and bringing his attention back to the dark skinned boy standing in the spotlight at the head of the crowd. Tucker had been fairly calm up to this point, looking downright emotionless as he spoke to the Fenton parents, but his blue-green eyes seemed to take on a pinched look with Maddie's question. His tongue darted out to lick his lips, giving him a brief pause before he spoke: "Electrocution and exposure to high levels of ectoplasmic energy."

Lancer bit back a horrified gasp, wide eyes moving to Maddie and Jack Fenton. From this angle he couldn't see their faces but he did see a shocked Maddie step back into her husband, who placed a hand on her shoulder as he asked the next question: "Is he…dead?"

"No, at least not completely."

The portly teacher was relieved to hear that his student was still alive but the image of a young Danny Fenton being electrocuted…and the mention of high exposure to ectoplasm…

They had all seen the Fenton laboratory, was it possible that Danny had somehow gotten into some of his parents equipment? From the reactions of his parents and what he'd gathered from the short conversations he'd had with them and about them when speaking with Jazz he could conclude that they hadn't done anything to their son. It didn't look like their lab had very much security though, it would be possible for a teenager to sneak in and play around with some equipment…

Lancers stomach churned at the thought of the Fenton weapons lying out in the middle of a table. Then the image of the scars adorning Danny's back and arms came into his head unbidden. He had seen Phantom fighting ghosts around town at all hours of the day and heard about attacks happening at night on the morning ghost watch.

"Were any of those injuries…from us?"

Lancer looked up in time to see Tucker's right eye twitch. It was a very little thing, something that someone wouldn't notice unless they were looking for it. Lancer had known the trio of troublemakers (now heroes) long enough to know their tells. Sam was a masterful liar and even with all his years of dealing with adolescence the portly teacher couldn't tell when she was fibbing. She was either too good or never told a lie. Personally he suspected that it was a bit of both. The boys though were downright terrible at it. Danny was especially transparent, stuttering out responses and glancing around nervously in the very perfect image of a guilty person. Tucker was a little less see-through and had gotten better over the last three years. But the techno geek had never quite disposed of the tiny twitch of his right eye, which always alerted the teacher that whatever he was about to say was more than likely a lie.

"You never hurt him."

It was a lie, Lancer knew it but neither of the Fenton's seemed to be aware of that as Maddie shifted closer to her husband in visible relief. They proceeded to ask if they could go see him and Tucker denied the request, stating that Snowdrift (Lancer vaguely recalled Phantom referring to the yeti healer by that name) wouldn't want them there and that Danny would be fine. As was a natural reaction for any parent they looked like they wanted to protest but reluctantly agreed and wandered off to the edge of the crowd.

Silence ensued for a few seconds. Nobody really had anything that they wanted to say. "Is anybody injured?" Tucker asked suddenly, effectively breaking the deafening silence. There were a few half-hearted 'no's and head shakes. "Good, judging from the quakes that shook the caves it was a pretty intense battle. Frostbite has ordered his people to keep looking for injured among the rubble and will probably be busy trying to figure things out for the next few hours so we're gonna' have to fend for ourselves. It's pretty obvious that we won't be going home right away so I think that we should all go back up to our rooms and try to get a bit more rest."

Lancer, deciding to be the adult here and try to take charge, agreed with Tuckers idea. It didn't take a professional psychologist to deduce that everyone was exhausted. They'd gotten a few hours' sleep at most the past few days and all the excitement over the last hour hasn't helped to quell that exhaustion. Ignoring his own fatigue Lancer helped to get everyone up the surprisingly undamaged stairs and lead them to their even more surprisingly undamaged rooms. It was probably the only lucky thing that had happened since the crash.

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Paulina couldn't manage to get to sleep; she sat awake on top of the furs on her overly large cot staring at the dark ceiling. The drama queen had originally complained about the lack of electricity and artificial lighting but now she found the darkness of the closed off room to be strangely comforting.

"You still awake?"

The Latina shifted so that she was lying on her side and met the gray-blue eyes of her roommate. Cassie had become her best friend since Star had started hanging out with Valarie. She wasn't as moldable and willing as Star but still good enough company to have.

Paulina sat up, "Yea I'm awake."

"In shock?"

"Aren't you?"

"Well we always did know that there was something freaky about Fenton, that's why Dash and Kwan always mess with him isn't it?"

"I guess so…"

"Too bad he has Manson; you dated him for a little while freshman year didn't you?"

"We went to one dance!" Paulina shouted out, instinctively defensive about the subject.

"And went out for a week according to over ninety percent of the student body, who swear up and down that they saw you ask him out in front of everyone-"

"I keep telling people that week was a blur, I don't even remember what the heck went on during that time."

"So you always say," Cassie said with a snort, "but the point is that you two went out and he had a thing for you, everyone knew it too."

"I know! If only I'd known that he was Phantom, it would have made things so much easier!"

The Latina was insanely frustrated with that fact. She could have gone out with _The_ Danny Phantom if only she'd known that he was really that wimpy loser Fenton…

"Are you serious?"

They both turned to see the small crack that neither had noticed widen as the door opened. Wide shoulders blocked most of the light as Dash Baxter stood in the doorway looking insanely frustrated and even a little angry. "Did you not just _see_ the beating that he took? He was _bleeding_ Pauli, so much that it was dribbling on the floor as he was carried out of the room and all you can think about is how much easier it would have been if you'd known that they were the same person?"

The jock shook his blonde head, unusually messy hair sticking up in tufts as if he'd been running his hands through it, which he probably had been. "I can't believe how shallow you are," Dash growled, grabbing the door handle and slamming it shut behind him, once more leaving the room engulfed in darkness.

"Geez, what's his issue?" Cassie asked, briefly lifting herself up to fluff the fur behind her head before lying back down on her side to face the wall.

Paulina remained sitting, staring at the door. It was rare to see Dash get legitimately angry at her, frustrated definitely but never angry. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top of them as the feeling of being small and insignificant washed over her. The drama queen knew what it was despite it being something that she rarely ever felt. Dash knew that she hated being called shallow and usually made anyone who called her such pay in the most despicable and often painful ways possible but this time she just didn't have it in her to scream and get angry.

This time she kinda thought that maybe he was a little right.

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Dash stood outside Paulina's door, clenching his jaw angrily as his hands gripped the ice handrail directly parallel to her room. He hadn't exactly meant to snap at her, the original reason he'd come was to ask her to have a heart-to-heart session with him and Kwan in their room, a regular thing whenever one of them faced something particularly troublesome or emotionally overwhelming. Safe to say that the past few hours qualifies, so here he was.

He'd had the door cracked; listening to make sure that Cassie was asleep before sneaking in when they'd started talking. For some reason he had listened to their conversation even though he knew it wasn't his place. The mention of the spectacle a mere half hour ago had captured his interest. But when he'd heard Paulina whining about her lost chance he'd gotten angry. He knew that her crush on Phantom was obsessive to the point of stalker fan-girlish proportions but he'd never known that she was this…shallow.

She hated that word and Dash hated it when anyone else called her that because if there was anything that Paulina Sanchez was not, at least to him and Kwan, it was shallow. But at that moment she was so shallow that he could have stepped in a puddle of her and not gotten his feet wet. In a moment of rage he'd flung the door open and told her so.

"That was a nice little scene."

Whipping around Dash was mildly surprised to see Aless leaning against the wall beside the door; arms crossed and looking pretty relaxed as her blue-gray eyes peered at him through dark-wired glasses. "What the heck do you want?" the quarterback growled.

Her shoulder moved up and down in a shrug, "I came out to get some air after my roomie fell asleep, never expected to see the school bully sticking up for his favorite punching bag."

The comment stung a little but the jock tried not to show it as he squared his shoulders to bring himself up to his full height. Classic intimidation tactic. He attempted to add to the effect by taking a menacing step forward. "None of your business who I talk about and what I say about them," Dash replied.

Her lips moved up in a mocking half-grin, "Struck a nerve did I?"

He took another step forward so that he was standing right in front of her. She didn't flinch or move away, choosing to glare at him with her burning blue-gray eyes. They looked both identical and completely different from Cassie's, whoever first said that eyes are the windows to the soul was probably a really smart guy.

"Are you feeling guilty for all the times you bullied him?" she asked.

Dash winced, of course he felt guilty, he also felt like a complete fool and above all a coward. On top of beating up his hero he was giving the kid who had sacrificed his mind and body time and time again to protect everyone slack that he definitely didn't need. Just thinking about the conversation he'd had with 'Phantom' a few hours prior had his gut twisting in a knot of self-loathing and disappointment. But there was no way he was about to tell her that. At the same time he couldn't bring himself to speak up and deny it either. Instead he pursed his lips and remained silent.

Aless took his silence as confirmation and shook her blonde head. "You know the saddest part of all this isn't even that you used to pick on him. It's that if he was still just Danny Fenton then you definitely wouldn't feel bad about it would you? It's only because he's your hero that you even feel sorry about it."

Dash tensed as he momentarily mulled over that question before deciding that she was right. If he'd just turned out to be a ghost hunter then the quarterback would have just brushed it off, sure he would have given Fenton a break at school but he wouldn't have felt too guilty about bullying him for so long. Dash took a step back, shoulders sagging as he acknowledged the fact that she was right.

Aless pushed herself off the wall and shook her head once more before turning and walking back down the hall. "She might be shallow Dash, but you're just downright despicable."

He vaguely heard the faint tapping of her shoes on the ice tiles beneath their feet and the creak of a door closing before he was left alone. Standing out in the freezing hallway with snow pouring in from the hole that had been created by Phantom's fight flooding the dining room the jock knew that Aless was right.

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His eyes warily cracked open before slamming shut as sudden bright light flooded in. He forced them open again a moment later, some hazy thought telling him that the pain was only temporary and would go away the sooner he faced it. Awareness crept in as the icy ceiling came into view, followed by the steady beeping of a heart monitor. Danny groaned and shifted his head to the side, ignoring the throbbing ache that the movement brought, zeroing in on the blipping green line that continuously ran across a glowing blue screen.

' _The medical ward'_ he thought vaguely, eyes trailing down to the IV in his arm, which was pumping a steady stream of green liquid into his veins. There was movement to his right and he took his time turning. A head of shiny black hair was there to greet him, buried in a pair of familiar arms. A gentle grin made its way onto his face when he realized that one of those arms was outstretched, petite hand clutching his. Danny gave it a gentle squeeze, hissing in pain as a bolt of fiery lightning shot up his forearm and sizzled at the shoulder.

Usually Sam wasn't a light sleeper but, be it from the stress of the past couple days or the amount of time she had been sleeping (Danny wasn't sure which), this time she shifted from the noise, groaning lightly as she lifted her head from the makeshift pillow. Tired violet met blue and she smiled in relief.

"Your awake," she whispered, shifting closer and taking his hand between both of hers. The halfa squeezed her hand again, more prepared for the resulting pain this time, before grinning widely, "He wasn't so tough."

Danny's voice sounded rough. His throat felt like it was on fire and he could almost feel Dan's fingers wrapped around his neck as he threatened him and everyone he loved. Not wanting to think about it the ghost teen shoved the dark thoughts away and focused on Sam's relieved face.

She raised a mocking eyebrow at his humor but couldn't quite wipe the smile from her face.

"Is everyone alright?"

"As far as I know, Tucker got them all to go back to sleep after you passed out," Sam replied. There was a subtle shift in her voice when she mentioned him passing out and Danny felt his gut churn uncomfortably as the implications of what she'd said sank in. "Did they…?"

His girlfriend worried her bottom lip between her teeth for a few moments before raising her eyes from where they'd been rested on their combined hands. The emotion reflected in her violet irises was enough but she supplied the verbal confirmation anyway. He whispered a curse and shut his eyes tightly, feeling her fingers begin to stroke his bandaged hand soothingly. Danny allowed himself a moment of quiet resignation before heaving a sigh and attempting to sit up.

"Danny what are you doing? You can't just-"

"I need to talk to them Sam," he replied, wincing as the stitches across his chest stretched.

Sam placed her hands on his shoulder blades to try and take some of the strain off while she rearranged the pillows, cursing lightly to herself when she realized that there weren't enough to prop him up on. "Tucker!" she shouted. There was a small crash on the other side of the curtains a moment before their friend stuck his head through the white drapes.

"Sam what-"

"Get me some pillows!" she almost growled, still trying to support Danny's weight.

The techno geek didn't have to be told twice and disappeared again, reappearing with three fluffy feather pillows, which he handed one at a time to Sam. Frustrated grumbles left her mouth as she fixed his bed and instructed him to sit back, which he did, breathing out a sigh of relief as the searing pain in his chest subsided to a dull ache.

"Thanks," he said, nodding to both his friends in turn.

"You're just lucky we like you," Sam said.

"Some more than others…" Tucker muttered, pretending to fiddle with his PDA. Sam, standing next to him in a practically silent room, heard and promptly punched the techno geek in the arm, nearly making him drop his tech. The resulting mini-argument lasted until Danny asked Tucker what had happened after they'd left for the medical ward. Tuck gave him the story and the halfa was silent for a few awkward moments before lifting his head and facing the worried stares of his two best friends.

"Could you go and get Frostbite?"

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It was nearly an hour later that the Fenton's were called in to see their son. Neither Maddie nor Jack had been able to get any sleep in their anxiety and stuck close to the yeti that had come to escort them, too worried about Danny to really mind being led by a specter. The medical ward was predictably crowded with nearly every cot taken up by wounded. Snowdrift was tending to a patient near the door when they entered, apparently taking his blood pressure, and it was a moment before he noticed them.

He was as cold as Jack remembered him being, showing a distinct lack of expression that made him seem calm, focused, and immune to both compliments and insults alike. The ghost physician barely glanced at the concerned parents before he turned back to what he was doing.

"I'll take it from here" Snowdrift said. The escort straightened, placing a fist on his chest before turning and exiting the room. Several silent seconds ticked by, making the ghost hunters fidget uncomfortably before Jack finally managed to ask whether or not Danny was alright. Snowdrift ignored the question for the sparse seconds it took his practiced hands to unsnap the cuff from his patients arm and place it on a side table, picking up what looked like a see-through iPad and tapping his fingers quickly across the glowing screen.

"The Great One's injuries have all been treated, my apologies for your wait but it was necessary to stabilize him before visitors could be allowed."

"Can we see him then?" Maddie asked a bit impatiently.

Snowdrift nodded, "The Great One has specifically requested your presence." He moved toward one of the far corners of the room as he spoke, which had been sectioned off by a white curtain, the yeti doctor pushed it aside with his clawed hand, announcing that the visitors had arrived. There was a brief pause in what had sounded like an ongoing conversation before a familiar voice said to let them in. Snowdrift inclined his head in response and stood aside, allowing the Fenton parents to walk through before closing the curtain with a barely audible swish behind them.

Danny was sitting up in bed with a small mountain of pillows propped up behind him. Kwan's shirt had been replaced with what looked like hospital scrubs, though they couldn't tell if the wardrobe change extended to his pants thanks to the blanket draped over his legs. His right arm was bandaged from shoulder to knuckles, hand sandwiched between Sam's smaller palms. Tucker was standing in the opposite corner. Aside from them Frostbite and the purple-clad ghoul were also there, crowded in beside Tucker.

All eyes were trained on the new arrivals for a few awkward moments before the clock ghost spoke up, "I suppose I shall be heading back now," he said.

"Make sure you take good care of that thermos this time Clockwork," Danny replied with a playful smile. The time ghost also smiled, just a small quirk of his lips but a smile none the less. "Rest assured young Daniel, all is exactly as it should be," with those final words the ghost of time vanished in a burst of light, almost too fast for Maddie to catch a glimpse of the shiny thermos that he clutched in his right hand.

"I should also be taking my leave Great One, please call for me if you should require anything else and rest assured that my people are taking care of everything," Frostbite said.

"Thank you, I'm sorry again for all the damage…" Danny said sheepishly, looking more than a little embarrassed. The Ice King waved his hand dismissively, "It's not a problem, we have been thinking of redecorating for a time now, you merely saved us the trouble of tearing everything apart."

"Still, I owe you one," the halfa teen replied.

Frostbite smiled, inclined his head, and spoke a few words of thanks before turning to leave.

Danny stared at the spot that the yeti king had disappeared for a few silent moments before turning his gaze to his parents. The raven haired teen forced a smile and asked if they wanted to have a seat, inclining his head toward the two chairs set up in the corner. Maddie and Jack wordlessly moved to the proffered seats and plopped down, never taking their eyes off their son.

"Well…" Danny started after another awkward silence, "I guess that you saw and, yea…I'm Phantom."

He said it nervously, trying and failing to offer a reassuring smile.

"How…how did it happen?" Jack asked quietly. He was considerably more subdued than usual, his exuberant personality nowhere to be seen as he stared at his injured son and clutched his wife's petite hand.

"Well Tucker already said that it was electrocution and exposure to high levels of ectoplasmic energy, but that's actually a pretty general way to explain exactly what happened…" Danny paused and seemed to take a deep breath, the fake smile falling from his face, "you remember when I had that accident down in the lab three years ago? Messing around with the portal controls when it accidentally turned on and gave me a small shock?"

Maddie nodded slowly, "Yes, you didn't tell us until a week later when we noticed you acting weird and asked you about it."

"That was a lie," Danny said, focusing his gaze on the heart monitor still beeping away beside him, "the truth is that…Sam, Tuck and I all came down to the lab one day after school. I had told them about the portal and they wanted to check it out, when we got down there I got curious and ended up putting on a hazmat suit-"

"He didn't just get curious," Sam interjected, a twinge of remorse creeping into her tone as she faced Jack and Maddie, "I dared him to, convinced him that it would be cool-"

Danny shifted his injured arm, making her turn to face him. Something passed between them, a silent conversation that lasted for only a brief moment. Sam gave a small nod. Danny smiled and returned to his story. "I put on a hazmat suit and went into the portal. It was dark and I kept my hand on the wall so that I could feel my way through. My hand hit something and I heard a small beep, then the world exploded into a flash of blinding light, bright bursts of color exploding in front of my eyes. I could feel searing pain tearing through me, it felt like putting your hand in a live circuit except all over my body, inside and out, I was paralyzed, every possible nerve ending screaming while my bones melted and the blood evaporated from my veins."

"The next thing I know I'm waking up in my room with Sam and Tucker hovering over me arguing about whether or not to call an ambulance. We didn't figure out until later what had happened. Luckily you guys had gone shopping and Jazz was at her tutoring job so no one but us knew, swiping the security tape was easy enough and pretty much ensured that no one would find out. It wasn't long after that the ghosts started coming through and well…" he shrugged his good shoulder, "here we are."

The Fenton parents were silent, staring blankly at their son for the span of several long moments. Maddie had gotten gradually paler as the explanation progressed while Jack had simply sat straight in his chair and listened, jaw set, he was the first to speak. "I guess I can see why you didn't tell us, heck I would have been scared too if I were you," he said with a humorless laugh.

"At first I was scared that you wouldn't accept me," Danny said, "or that you would try and dissect me or something."

Jack couldn't quite keep from wincing as the memory of every time he'd run around shouting about 'putrid blobs of ectoplasm' and tearing them apart 'molecule by molecule!' flashed at the forefront of his mind.

"But later – after a couple incidents – I stopped being afraid of that, I still didn't want you to know because, well…everyone who knows is a target. You've seen the way that the ghosts attack me; there are a couple who have come to Amity just looking for me, the famous halfa, and Sam, Tuck, and Jazz have been used more than once as bait."

"Wait, Jazz knows?" Maddie asked.

Danny smiled lightly as the image of his older sister sitting on the front steps of the school holding a torn teal headband came to mind. "She always was the smart one," he said, "saw me change in a back alley and didn't mention it for months after, said she was waiting for me to tell her myself."

Neither Maddie nor Jack were as surprised as they probably should have been. When their son had started high school she had constantly told them to keep their ghost-related activities away from him and even tried lecturing them on parental bonding. Jazz had always been a fan of psychological study and both parents had figured that she was going through a teenage phase. This only seemed to be confirmed as her protests died off toward the beginning of Danny's sophomore year.

They were more concerned with their son around this time anyway. Unlike their daughter Danny seemed to fall into a rut not long after his freshman year started. Neither Jack nor Maddie were particularly concerned at first and it wasn't until the problem escalated beyond occasionally missing curfew and shirking chores (which Jack had zealously insisted was normal despite constant complaints about doing his sons house work) that both parents had decided to act.

Grounding and confiscating privileges soon proved ineffective. After a few conferences with Mr. Lancer and the guidance counselor they discovered that detention wasn't much better. Any attempts by either the teacher, the counselor, or Jack and Maddie to discover what was wrong only yielded a half-hour of sitting in a silent room watching Danny fidget uncomfortably, glance around the room, and refuse to speak.

They had thought of every theory from drugs to falling in with the wrong crowd. The former was disproven with a visit to the doctor, Danny had seemed almost offended and especially defensive when they had dragged him there. The latter, which seemed promising given the strange injuries he occasionally bore and always claimed resulted from his clumsiness, was more likely though all the teachers at school claimed that they only ever saw him with Sam and Tucker. Visits to the psychologist had also proven useless.

Maddie and Jack had just started considering military school when Danny's sophomore year had begun. Gradually, but not completely, his behavior had returned to normal. There was still the occasional unexcused absence and missed curfew but they were much fewer and far between then they had been the previous year. Both Fenton parents had been too relieved for words and decided to take the change as it was, though they still kept tabs on their son to make sure that he didn't revert.

It had been a year since then and all that angst seemed a lifetime away. They had both long stopped harping on their boy as he was obviously handling himself, his schoolwork, and his chores much better.

Both Jack and Maddie shared a look, _'Should have listened to Jazz_. _'_

"But you know…" Danny continued, "That's not the only reason I didn't want you knowing."

The halfa teen paused to lick his suddenly dry lips and tore his gaze up from the sheets pooled in his lap, forcing himself to meet his parent's gazes.

"I guess that it's just…easier…you guys not knowing I mean."

Neither Jack nor Maddie spoke but their eyebrows did draw together in that familiarly analytical expression, the one they always wore when they were trying to figure something out. Not even acute emotional distress could change the fact that the Fenton parents were scientists at heart and, while they could understand Danny's explanation so far, he had completely lost them with this new turn in reasoning.

"I get that you guys are world renowned ghost hunters-" Tucker suppressed a scoff from where he was still standing in the corner, earning a glare from Sam, "-but there are some things that you just can't handle, it was hard enough for Jazz to adjust when she first started helping out, she honestly did more harm than good most of the time-"

"Understatement of the century."

Danny and Sam both shot Tucker a scathing glare. The dark skinned teen raised his hands in surrender and backed up a step, recognizing their looks as promises of retribution to be paid later.

"What I'm saying is that it's easier," Danny bulldozed on, "Sam, Tuck, Jazz, and I have a system, and it works. I figured that if you guys found out you'd try to help out, aside from constantly being kidnapped you'd also start throwing yourselves into the line of fire. I know that you kinda already do that but those are just whatever ghoul happens to be terrorizing the streets, a lot of them are at the low end of the ghost power spectrum. But the ones that we fight…not all of them are like that."

"Like the ghost you fought earlier?" Maddie blurted.

Danny winced but managed a haphazard nod, "Especially him."

His voice was thick and he barely managed to keep it from cracking on the second word. Sam felt the pressure on their intertwined fingers and her violet eyes swam with understanding and sympathy.

"So," Jack spoke, breaking the heavy silence that had descended, "this doesn't happen every day does it?" he queried, motioning to Danny, decked out in full hospital garb with an IV sticking out of one arm and the other swathed in three layers of bandages and plaster.

The dark haired teen managed a wry laugh, "No, nothing even close in the day-to-day ghost fighting."

"So your saying that you have gotten this injured before?" Maddie pressed. She had gone from pale and visibly anxious to motherly in a matter of seconds.

"Every once in a while…" Danny replied evasively.

The Fenton mother narrowed her eyes in that way she always did when she was going to try and pry information out of one of her children, opening her mouth to retort a split-second before the curtain swished open.

Everyone turned to see Snowdrift standing stoically in the makeshift entrance – both parents missing the relieved look on Danny's face as he avoided an interrogation from his mother. "I apologize Great One but our Lord Frostbite has instructed me to ensure you get plenty of rest, I must ask that your guests leave."

The halfa nodded thankfully and smiled at the healer, verbalizing his gratitude before asking how everyone else was doing. This brought a smile to the yeti ghost's normally emotionless face as he replied that all the yeti injured during the battle were recuperating well, pointing out the increased buzz of activity that had begun to stir outside the curtains. It was clear from the noise that someone had told them to keep quiet and they were trying their best, but their best only went so far.

"And Danielle?" Danny asked once they'd all stopped chuckling about the warriors comparing battle scars and being terrible at sickbed card games.

"Nasty bump to the head and a sprained wrist. She woke up about an hour ago and refused to stay in bed. If it weren't for Icetooth she'd probably be here by now."

Sam raised a brow, "What did Icetooth do?"

"Convinced her to go get food first, as close to forcing her as if he'd carried her to the kitchen."

Tucker laughed, "Best way to get to a Phantom is through their stomach!"

"You try flinging ecto energy left and right, being attacked by crazies, evil villains, and ghostly annoyances daily then tell me you aren't hungry!" Danny exclaimed jokingly.

"Crazies and evil villains?" Maddie questioned, her attention once more riveted on her son.

Tucker burst into another peal of laughter at the deer-in-the-headlights expression on Danny's face. Sam grinned and shook her head when her boyfriend turned to her for help before he started stammering reassurances in response to his mother's sudden onslaught of questions and concern. Jack looked on, content to stay out of it while Snowdrift waited for a few noisy moments before asking them to leave again. The yeti healer only managed to get the Fenton parents out of the room when he pointed out that the racket they were making was disturbing the other patients (even though they all knew that it wasn't, really).

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It took about a three days to get everything back in order.

The shuttles had taken minor damage from a few falling rocks, courtesy of Dan slamming Phantom into the cliffs and subsequently taking their battle inside. Frostbite and his people had made it top priority to fix them and managed it in a few brief hours before turning their full attention to the wrecked tunnels, which proved to be a much more difficult fix.

While the construction went on Danny was stuck in the medical ward with Sam and Tucker, who refused to leave his side throughout his incapacitation. Jack and Maddie would come for a visit every few hours. At first they had been adamant about not leaving him again regardless of Snowdrifts instructions, reasoning that if Sam and Tucker could stay then they, as parents, certainly should be able to. Danny eventually had to point out that there were a dozen people that needed them more than he did. Given that they are trapped in the Ghost Zone and probably both mentally and physically exhausted from the trials of the past week.

Both Fenton parents had seen the logic in his statement and agreed that they would look after everyone else as long as they could visit him regularly. Thus Danny's waking hours were spent receiving checkups from the yeti healer, joking with his friends, and talking with his parents. These conversations pretty much consisted of them asking questions about his ghostly double life and him answering to the best of his capabilities.

The ghost teen tried his best not to lie but did manage to tone down a few of his more… _serious_ misadventures so as not to alarm them too much. It was a lot to take in all at once and he'd rather ease them into it. Both were very interested in his descriptions of the various ghosts he's met and fought, listening with rapt attention as he outlined their powers and personalities.

By the time Danny was deemed well enough to stand and make the trip back home his half ghost status had become an accepted fact between him and his parents. It was almost unnatural how quickly they had accepted the idea, though he supposed that was a benefit of having scientist parents.

Everyone else had spent those three days making their way between their sleeping quarters and the makeshift dining room that had been set up down the hall (considering that the other one was totaled), occasionally being allowed to wander with the help of a yeti guide specifically assigned to care for the human guests despite the need for hands to help fix the collateral damage. Frostbite was nothing if not hospitable and would normally have allowed them to wander freely if not for the lack of security and very real possibility of them straying into one of the construction sites.

To pass the time gossip was exchanged, most of it was speculation on how Danny had become a half ghost.

Star figured that he'd been hit by one of his parent's inventions. Paulina thought that he might've been close to death (maybe a burglar broke into his house and, like, stabbed him or something!) and gotten exposed to some ectoplasm from the lab. Cassie morbidly suggested that he'd attempted suicide by drinking some unknown chemicals in his parent's lab. Kwan had shouted out his theory about Danny being bitten by a genetically altered ghost that had escaped from a cage in his parents' lab and receiving all its ghostly abilities.

Everyone had given him a strange look for that one before Cassie had sarcastically pointed out that Danny Fenton and Peter Parker weren't the same person, making the football jock flush in embarrassment and try to hide his discomfort behind a laugh.

Trev, Aless, Rory, Kate, Mickey, Nathan, Valarie, and, surprisingly, Dash didn't participate in the speculation. All but Dash and Valarie seemed to form their own little group in almost direct opposition to the populars, punctuated by the constant fighting between Aless and Cassie. The latter girl had attempted to sweet talk information out of the Fenton's once, only receiving evasive answers from Maddie and a mouthful from Aless when she'd happened to walk by and overheard.

By the time Icetooth had entered the dining room and informed everyone that the shuttles were prepped and ready to leave they had all had enough and were more than ready to go home. Granted they'd had enough mere hours after entering the Zone, but spending every waking moment around people that you could hardly stand had a way of making you almost desperate to get away from them.

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"Finally we're going home!" Star said exuberantly, practically skipping down the hallway as the yeti leading them turned another corner.

Valarie could only nod absently in the wake of her friend's joy, unable to share it. Unfortunately Star was smart, smarter than a lot of people gave her credit for, and she immediately picked up on her friend's mood.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

The ghost huntress jerked her head up in apparent surprise before frowning and shaking her head roughly, "Nothing…I'm fine."

Star put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side, releasing a pensive _"hmmm…?"_ while eyeing her friend. It was a pose she only took up when she knew that Valarie was either lying or hiding something. Valarie was a secretive person by nature, she had to be if she wanted to do her work in peace, but she didn't like lying to Star.

More than once the Red Huntress had found herself compelled to confide in the blonde, if anyone could give her useful advice it would be Star, but her secret was a dangerous one and she'd prefer to have as few people in the know as possible. With that thought in mind she had never spoken a word and was determined to continue her silence.

"What are you going to do when we get back?" Valarie asked.

Star immediately recognized it as the distraction it was but dropped the subject just as she always did. Diverted attention always meant that something was off limits. So she started rambling about how she would jump in the shower and eat a huge bowl of ice cream before snuggling up under her blanket and sleeping in the next morning.

Valarie stopped listening after the first word.

She had been stuck on the moment that Phantom had shifted back into Danny for the last three days, using the first day just to wrap her mind around the idea and the other two to get used to it and figure out what to do. She had _hunted_ her crush, _injured_ him, and then broken up with him to protect him from _himself_.

It was almost hilarious when she really thought about it.

Except that it really wasn't.

' _God how am I going to apologize…?'_ She pondered, feeling more and more helpless with every step that she took.

The dark skinned girl had gone over dozens of conversations in her head, wondering how she was ever going to be able to make up for everything that she's done. _'I_ _ **shot**_ _at him…I know a few of those hit too, especially that one time I got him in the chest…'_

She suddenly stood ramrod straight as an image of Phantom wincing after they'd initially landed on the Far Frozen came to her mind unbidden.

"… _Unlike you we die if we get injured badly enough!"_

Ah…so that was why he'd flinched back then.

Because he knew what dying was like? Maybe because he can still technically 'die,' from what they'd gotten out of the Fenton's brief explanation Danny was a half ghost, much like Mayor Masters and Dani. Really she should have guessed as much after finding out that Danny and Dani were cousins, it was fairly obvious really. Just shows how ignorant someone can be if they don't really want to try and connect the dots.

She huffed disappointedly at herself. How foolish can a person be?

Even worse was how anxious she felt. After everything that had happened she should be able to walk up to him and apologize properly but for some reason her body and mind rebelled against the idea. She probably should have snuck in to see him when he was laid up in the medical ward, it wouldn't have been difficult to get Nathan to show her where it was or follow one of the yeti who had been bringing the ghost hunting trio their meals.

But no, she had resolved to tell him after he was up and able again. Not that it would make any difference in the long run he probably wouldn't forgive her in any case. She knew that she likely wouldn't forgive herself if she was in his shoes.

The clinking of repairs echoed in the tunnel as they passed a collapsed wall that gave them all a perfect view of the working yeti. It was interesting to see them using their ice abilities to patch up the holes and freeze the rubble back into place, pretty efficient too. This way they didn't have to haul all the broken chunks of wall out of the caves and the addition of a chisel and some artistic talent made them look more like murals than battle scars.

Most of the damage was congregated to within a five minute walk of the totaled dining room and the sound of repairs had almost completely disappeared by the time they reached the entrance, which was odd. If that ghost hadn't come through the entrance then he'd had to have crashed through several hundred feet of solid rock.

Valarie didn't know what the density of rocks in the Ghost Zone was compared to the rocks back home but given how sturdy Icetooth's ice barricade had been she was willing to bet that they were just as strong, if not stronger.

Their group approached the shuttles and everyone grew silent as they spotted Sam, Tucker, and Danny. The halfa had his right arm in a sling and a bandage circling his head. Black spots that looked fairly similar to fingerprints adorned his throat, looking mostly faded but not entirely gone.

His usual long sleeved shirt and blue jeans were gone, replaced by a pair of blue and grey camo pants and a white T-shirt. He looked strangely at home on the icy tundra, completely different from Sam and Tucker, who were wrapped in the fur-lined coats that the yeti ghost had provided for them all.

The procession stopped just short of the vehicles, all eyes riveted on the half ghost teen. He smiled nervously and used his uninjured hand to rub the back of his neck. "Well let's get going huh?" he said before gesturing to the open doors of the shuttle.

Silence reigned for a few more moments before Trev stepped forward, nodding to the trio and climbing aboard. Rory and Kate came forward next, the former giving all three of them a sunny smile and bright verbal thanks while the latter stuttered over her words, clearly still uncomfortable speaking with so many people watching.

Danny smiled at each one of them, some of the tension draining from his posture.

Everyone else started boarding too, most deciding to remain silent and simply stare at Danny as they passed while a few, like Aless, Nathan, and Mickey, thanked him as they went by.

Valarie told Star to go ahead, ignoring the curious stare she received as she turned and made a beeline for Danny. Sam saw her coming first and didn't even try to keep the scowl off her face. Tucker cocked an eyebrow in confusion. The ghost huntress ignored both of them and parked herself in front of Danny. He looked both confused and concerned but didn't say anything.

Valarie gulped down the sudden lump in her throat before speaking, "Can I talk to you?"

Danny's eyebrows rose. He glanced at the rapidly filling shuttle then back at her, then at the shuttle again.

"…uh…sure?"

Her eyes flicked to Tucker and Sam, staring at her intently and possibly menacingly as they awaited her next words.

"Alone?"

"Oh," Danny deadpanned only a split second after Sam growled a venomous, "Not a chance" from behind him.

His gaze flicked back to Sam for a moment before a weak smile overtook his face, his hand came up to rub the back of his neck again. "Uh…sure Valarie, come on over this way…"

He started to lead her a short distance off, behind the second shuttle, when Sam caught his good arm by the shirtsleeve and voiced her displeasure. Danny's face seemed to lose some of its anxiety as he turned and took her hand tenderly in his, saying something in a gentle tone almost too soft to be more than a breath. It was clearly meant only for Sam and she gritted her teeth, obviously wanting to argue.

The halfa teen said something else, this time intertwining their fingers together and giving her a look that Valarie wasn't angled to see. She did see the way that Sam's shoulders relaxed though. "Five minutes," the Goth said, shooting the ghost huntress a glare before releasing her boyfriend's hand and going back to stand beside Tucker, who had remained as a casual observer the entire time.

Danny motioned Valarie on and they walked behind the second shuttle, parking themselves a few feet from the bumper.

"So what's up?" he asked, "I'm not going to tell anyone about your secret if that's what this is about."

"So you do know about that…"

"Have known almost since the beginning"

"Why didn't you ever do anything about it?"

"What was there to do? If I stole your tech Plasmius would just give you more. If I told everyone who you were then there would be a media circus trying to bust down your front door, speaking from personal experience those people are relentless and I'd hate to subject anyone to that torture," he cringed and Valarie suddenly recalled video footage she'd seen on the internet of him being chased by approximately five news choppers and half the student body. She inwardly shuttered and didn't even try thinking about how bad it would have been had they actually known where he _lives_.

"But why not just get rid of me? Shoot me down when I was chasing you or something? After seeing you fight Skulker, take down the prison, and handle that flame-haired spook it's pretty clear to me that you've been holding back, a lot."

He scoffed like the idea was the most absurd thing he'd ever heard, "It's true that I've been holding back, a lot, but I think you already know why I would never try to get rid of you."

After seeing what he's gone through to protect everyone over the past few days she agreed, she knew exactly why he hadn't and wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her. Taking her chapped lip between her teeth she gnawed on it anxiously for a few moments, worrying it between her teeth in clear anxiety.

"Listen…I'm not sure how much it means for me to say this but I wanted to…apologize…after everything I've done I know that a simple I'm sorry doesn't cover it and I understand if you don't forgive me but I feel like I have to say it anyway," she was refusing to meet his gaze, strangely concerned that she would lose her courage if she met his eyes, "I get why you won't – can't, hurt anyone and am extremely guilty about fighting with you all this time. I'm not going to give up being the Red Huntress but you can at least be sure that she's never going to hunt Danny Phantom, ever again."

Now she allowed herself to look at him and was surprised to see a relaxed smile adorning her features.

"Thanks," he said simply, "I appreciate it."

She opened her mouth to reply when a shout caught their attention and Sam came stomping around the corner. Danny laughed and gave Valarie a brief wave before turning to meet his girlfriend. The Goth immediately began interrogating him about what had transpired, getting a ten word response that had her drawing her eyebrows together and glancing suspiciously back at Valarie just as they disappeared from sight.

The ghost huntress stood there silently for a few moments, feeling the weight of guilt slowly lifting off her shoulders. She eventually headed back to the shuttle when she heard Maddie, who had been taking roll, calling her name.

That had gone better then she thought it would.

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"So you're going to hitch a ride back?" Danny asked.

Danielle shook her head, "No I think I'm just going to see you guys off and head back to the Far Frozen with Frostbite and the others."

The halfa teen raised an eyebrow, "Ditching your world tour?"

"Only for now," she replied with a mysterious smile.

Danny laughed and ruffled her hair, making her frown back at him. "You know that I hate that," she replied dryly and her cousin's grin widened, "I know."

"He's really milking this injury for all its worth," Tucker said propping his elbows up on the seat behind them and gazing down at his two best friends.

"Naturally," Sam replied sitting as close to Danny as she could without pressing into his injured right arm, "It's not like he can do this every day."

"True," the halfa confirmed, "Dani would usually shove me through the bottom of the bus for doing that."

The younger girl smiled proudly, still hovering in front of them in the shuttle isle.

"Great One," Frostbite called from the front of the shuttle, drawing all attention to the Ice King, "your portal is in sight."

Danny nodded, "Good could you pull up just inside and drop us all off?"

Frostbite nodded and the yeti piloting began to angle the shuttle toward the Fenton Portal. The ride had been mostly silent with the occasional buzz of multiple whispered conversations bouncing around throughout the air before dying down to a low murmur. As soon as the portal was sighed the noise spiked exponentially, some crying out in joy while others sighed in relief.

Danny was one of the latter, shifting his injured arm slightly and feeling gratified when he realized that the pain had faded to a dull throb. The makeshift cast could probably be removed in a day or two at the rate it was healing. Sam smiled widely as the portal grew closer and closer, Tucker cheered loudly in his ears, Danny couldn't bring himself to mind the noise or the slight twinge of discomfort that it brought to his throbbing head.

The halfa wasn't prepared for what happened when they had completely passed back into their own world. No one was, honestly.

The Fenton's basement lab was full of people, most of whom started screaming when the shuttle suddenly burst through the swirling green portal. Luckily someone had the foresight to put caution tape around the portal, providing a fairly good sized berth for them to pull up and park. Danny's gaze shot to the front, where both Frostbite and the pilot had disappeared, Maddie rushing over to take the controls and make it look like _somebody_ had been driving the thing.

He only just caught sight of Dani, green orbs wide in surprise, before she too vanished from sight.

Jack managed to make it to the door and press the release button, allowing the futuristic metal doors to slide open easily. Everyone piled out three at a time, being embraced by family members and dragged away to be checked by waiting paramedics.

Maddie powered down the shuttle, grateful that it was designed so similarly to the speeder, before turning to stand beside Danny and her husband. They were the last to get off, Jack going first so that he could help their injured son. He protested but eventually allowed the help as Jack and Sam managed to get him safely to the ground. Tucker hopped out after and Maddie gave one last glance to the empty cockpit.

There was no sign of the ghosts that had once inhabited it and she couldn't tell if they were still there or not. So she dropped down next to her family and asked her son how he was feeling, expecting the exasperated reply of "I'm fine!" that she received before he vocalized it.

Somehow Jazz managed to push her way through the pandemonium and make it to her family.

"Are you guys alright?" she asked, eyes focusing on Danny's bandaged arm and head a moment later, "evidentially not!"

She seemed more exasperated than concerned but quickly switched to feigning surprised worry when she saw Jack and Maddie watching. "They know," Danny said lowly, making his sisters eyes widen and flick almost anxiously between him and their parents.

To her credit she only looked surprised for a moment, their simple smiles and the understanding gleams in their eyes gave her more reassurance then any words could.

"Good, and sorry about the…uh…welcome committee," She cringed, "I tried to stop them but they ended up coming back with a warrant then the Guys in White got involved-"

"Wait the GIW are here?" Danny asked.

Jazz nodded and pointed to the edges of the crowd. Danny wanted to smack himself for not seeing them earlier, there were almost a dozen agents spread out among the crowd, half armed with ecto pistols and the other half staring at the bleeping screens of ghost trackers.

"That shuttle is made of Far Frozen tech, it must reek of ecto energy!" Sam hissed.

"We can say that the metal absorbed a lot of ecto energy when we were trapped in the Zone," Maddie suggested.

Danny shook his head, "No they've probably already started questioning everyone we need to stick as close to the truth as possible."

"All we really need to leave out is the end of your battle with Him right?" Tucker added.

The halfa teen nodded, "Everything but that should be fine, maybe leaving out my crazy fight with Skulker too…"

"Let's see what we can do," Sam said, "I'll try to tell as many people as discretely as possible, you do the same Tuck."

"I'll help too," Jazz volunteered.

"Jack I need to stay with Danny, you go and spread the word too, pretend to be searching for the first aid kit or something," Maddie said. Jack nodded and took off, shedding the serious expression he had been wearing and replacing it with his usual goofy demeanor.

Sam pecked Danny on the cheek in a rare display of public affection, "See you later." She disappeared into the crowd with Tucker and Jazz following after her, leaving Danny alone with his mother.

"Are Danielle and the others gone?" Maddie asked.

The ghost huntress had gotten surprisingly close to the little girl in the few days they'd been awaiting her son's recovery. It had surprised her to find out that Danny had a clone (and such an adorable female clone at that). Both Jack and Maddie had taken to her so well that they offered to adopt her, which she'd refused, although she had seemed more than a little touched by the gesture.

"I don't know," Danny replied, sharp gaze traveling around the room.

He didn't know what he expected to find, an invisible ghost was impossible to see with the naked eye. The ghost teen hoped that Frostbite and Dani had either fled back into the Ghost Zone or out of the building. The former option was more favorable but anything was better than them floating around a room filled with GIW agents and ghost trackers. As stupid as the GIW acted their weapons were top notch and could capture most medium level ghosts and all low levels. It wouldn't exactly be an easy victory but a dozen agents could definitely overtake the three specters.

Something moved out of the corner of his eye. In a crowded room a little bit of movement might not catch anyone else's attention, but something compelled Danny to look in that direction. He was greeted by a tall, thin man standing in the corner of the room. Half his face was shadowed but the other half shown clearly in the glow of the overhead lights. Blue skin, slicked black hair, the glint of a single fang peeking out over his bottom lip.

"Plasmius," Danny growled.

He knew that his eyes were probably glowing green and found himself not caring, not noticing as his mother ran a hand over his uninjured shoulder and asked him what was wrong, barely registering that the crazed chatter had muted to a dull buzzing murmur.

The self-satisfied smirk that Vlad wore spoke volumes to Danny. He was clearly responsible for the field trip and the crazy welcome, though the halfa teen couldn't fathom why he would set that up. What possible benefit could there be? If anything he just risked ousting _himself_ along with Danny. Without being able to use his secret as leverage the dark haired boy could tell his parents about Vlad Plasmius/Masters at any time.

Whatever logic he was using the ghoul did nothing to communicate it to Danny, merely cocking a brow and tilting his head in a very superior way, almost as if he had just checkmated someone. The next moment he fazed through the wall behind him, vanishing just as a very confused GIW agent rushed over to where he'd been standing, the incessant beeping of his ecto-detector settling down to a dull drone.

"Danny are you okay?"

He finally registered Maddie trying to get his attention and turned to meet her concerned eyes. She didn't even flinch at the swirls of green mixed in with the blue of his irises. "Yea…I'm okay, he answered. His mother didn't press him despite knowing that he wasn't necessarily being truthful, placing a hand on his back and leading him through the crowd, toward the stairs, instead.

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Danny stayed home from school the next day.

They had left on their field trip Friday and been gone all through the weekend and three days into the next week, returning sometime in the early afternoon on Wednesday. Every parent whose child had gone temporarily missing had opted to let them stay home for the next two days, especially for those who had injuries.

More than one angry parent had attempted to confront the school board about the field trip only to be turned away under the premise that there had been a line removing the school and all persons/chaperones involved from blame if one of the students should get injured. Luckily both Maddie and Jack Fenton technically fit under the definition of persons/chaperones and were thus exempted from blame.

Anyone with eyes could see how clearly set up that was but the fine print in the parent permission form was apparently legal in the eyes of the city and schoolboard. A group of vindictive PTA moms had banned together to protest the apparent unfairness and were trying to sue the school under the premise that the permission form didn't accurately describe the danger that the students may be placed in. There was also the question of whether a dangerous scientific experiment was a proper learning environment for an eleventh grade science class.

This debate was a hot topic among all the news networks, which Danny avoided like the plague in the late morning as he sat on the living room sofa flipping channels. He'd heard the spiel one too many times in the past few hours, getting the initial brief from Tucker and receiving the rest from the sudden influx of media attention the entire thing had received.

Given that it was only a day old it was pretty much guaranteed to get worse and while the halfa teen knew that he should keep up with the chatter he just didn't have the energy right now. Instead he reclined back against the pile of pillows his mother had propped him up on (she insisted despite his assurances that his wounds were healed well enough to handle the strain of sitting up on his own) and settled on a channel playing old cartoon reruns.

Less than an hour later Jazz plopped down next to him.

She had already gone into a lengthy explanation about what had happened in their absence the night before. It hadn't taken long for people to get suspicious when their kids didn't come back home later that Friday afternoon and they'd immediately looked to the school for answers. It had taken the entire weekend and part of the following Monday for them to figure out all the details of the field trip and make their way to the Fenton household. Jazz had naturally denied them access and they'd returned on Tuesday with a warrant that allowed them into the lab. Then the GIW had gotten involved and one thing led to another.

They were all just glad that no one had decided to throw any blame on Jack and Maddie, though Danny suspected that was partially due to the recounts by the class and Mr. Lancer stating that both Fenton parents had done a marvelous job protecting them. Speaking of those recounts…

"Nobody's said anything," Jazz stated simply, "they all seem to be sticking to the same general story and any mismatched details between them have been chalked up to the stress of the situation making them remember things differently."

"That's good," Danny replied, "ignorance is bliss as always."

Jazz scoffed, "It still amazes me how easy it is to fool people with the simplest things."

Her brothers answering grin was wide and full of unrepressed mirth, "Everyone's too busy taking it out on the school to bother questioning what the victims are saying."

"True, by the way Vlad finally released his statement on the incident."

Danny's grin fell, "Dare I ask?"

"Apparently all the fault of one of the city council members who pushed the field trip idea forward even after it had been denied in open discussion. He publicly announced that the man had 'resigned' and assured everyone that the procedure for pushing these types of decisions forward would be more carefully monitored in the future, even went so far as to say that they were reevaluating all the city council members to make sure that there weren't anymore 'unethical decision makers' in the bunch."

"What a load," Danny scoffed.

Jazz looked equally as disgusted but managed a shrug before crossing her arms and sliding further down into her seat, "That's politics, have you heard anything about Dani and the others?"

"They weren't captured by the GIW, mom said that Dani paid a visit early this morning. They all made it back to the Zone okay and apparently they didn't want to wake me up so she left as soon as she passed on the news."

Jazz smiled, "You were pretty exhausted last night."

"Nothing could ever make me _that_ exhausted."

There was a loud bang from the kitchen, followed by three more identical thumps and what sounded like a mild explosion.

"How are mom and dad?" The halfa teen asked, inclining his head in their direction.

"Still a little upset about Vlad."

Unfortunately the topic of Vlad Plasmius/Masters had come up when they were comparing notes the night before, needless to say neither Fenton parents were particularly happy about it.

"Dad's taking it especially hard…he's been working on inventions nonstop all night."

"What about mom?"

"She's less cut up, more angry than betrayed or sad like dad is. Last I saw she was test firing a couple of the new weapons, mostly blowing off steam I think."

Danny hummed thoughtfully in response, not entirely surprised by this. Maddie had definitely noticed the billionaire's attitude toward her in the time she'd spent around him, managing to hide most of her unease behind a pair of rose tinted glasses that replaced his current image with what he was back in their college days. This, combined with her husband's exuberant attitude toward the man, allowed her to at least tolerate his presence if not ignore the strange impulse she had to avoid him like he was diseased.

She definitely took his apparent betrayal much easier than Jack had.

The dark haired ghost teen had gone back to flipping channels at some point in the conversation and paused on a news station when he caught a shot of their esteemed mayor speaking at a podium in front of city hall. The old Fruit Loop was basically restating all that Jazz had already told him so he ignored the words and focused on him instead.

As far as basic speaking went it could be said that Vlad Masters was very good. He spoke passionately with a strong and unwavering voice, gesturing with his hands and remaining in one place so as not to distract his audience too much while he was speaking.

To everyone else it was just their hard working mayor trying to fix a major problem.

To Danny it was a dirty snake pretending to be the star of some kind of warped musical.

He remembered the way that he'd stood and watched them all exit the shuttle shortly after they'd arrived back in Amity. It was obvious who had really planned the field trip, although the halfa teen still couldn't quite fathom what reason he would have for something like that.

Vlad's dark blue eyes seemed to glint through the TV, just as mockingly as they had yesterday.

Danny huffed and shifted in his seat, moving his still-wrapped arm into a more comfortable position.

Stupid Fruit Loop.

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 **IT'S FINALLY DONE.**

 **Oh my gosh you have no idea how long I've been working on this fanfiction. It's been in the works for like a freaking year and I was determined to write the whole thing before publishing because I'm a serious procrastinator and don't do well with a deadline.**

 **I'm big on fanfictions and got into Danny Phantom a while ago, no matter how many people say that there are a ton of 'Lost in the Ghost Zone' fics I can never find them all. I only ever managed to track down like a half dozen of them. So I decided I would write one myself. Not just any 'Lost in the Ghost Zone' fanfiction either, but one that has everything that I love in a Danny Phantom fanfiction added into it. Now I'm pretty certain I didn't actually accomplish that, but there was a little torture, Wulf speaking esparanto the way I like it (translations right after the actual words! I don't know why but I freaking love that when I see it in a story! Maybe because I don't have to scroll all the way down to the bottom to see what the freak their saying!), some DXS going on in there, and of course some serious guilt tripping.**

 **Now I know that I got into the OC's a little in this fic but for some reason it just kinda' ended up like that. My favorite was Aless (short for Alessandra for those of you that were wondering) who I outfitted with a few of my own personality traits along with one or two I wish that I had. It was physically impossible for me to resist adding a pair of twins in there too, I've got a thing for twins and if I'm going to make the ultimate OC then she's going to have a bitchy twin dammit.**

 **Now for those of you that are wondering about a** **sequel** **because I know that someone is going to ask about that, I've determined that I'm not going to write one. This is my last super long story for a while now, I will add a few One shots that kinda' branch off of this story, one of them will provide somewhat of an ending but I'm not sure yet if it will be any more satisfying than this one was.**

 **Finally, for anyone who was insanely messed up by the terms that I used when describing Pandora's acropolis here's a little on Greek buildings:**

 **Octastyle – 8 columns.**

 **Ionic – a style of architecture.**

 **Entablature – the rectangular piece held up by the columns and holding up the pediment.**

 **Portico – basically a porch.**

 **Cella – the innermost chamber, the Greeks would put things like a statue of whatever deity they were worshipping in this room. It's the same room Pandora keeps her box in.**

 **Well that's all folks, feel free to check my Profile for more stories (not much there right now because I just did a purge of all the stories I consider grammatical nightmares, which was pretty much all of them) and keep supporting my work.**

 **THECASTORBEAN**

 **DEMANDS THAT YOU COMMENT.**


	6. BONUS CHAPTER

Vlad Masters was reclining in his imported leather desk chair clicking through the maze of files on his computer when Danny fazed through his roof, hovering barely an inch from the ground on the other side of the desk.

"Ah Daniel, I was wondering when you would show up" he said simply, not taking his eyes off his work, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"As if you don't already know."

Vlad stopped skimming though his files and turned his gaze to the young hero, a satisfied smile taking over his formerly neutral expression. "If you are referring to the field trip that you and your class went on then I think you should be visiting the former city council member who authorized it in the first place."

Danny's green eyes narrowed, "You know as well as I do that's just a cover, how much did you have to pay to sweep this one under the rug Plasmius? A couple thousand? Maybe a million?"

The billionaire chuckled quietly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk, "Chump change my boy, just chump change. You would think so too if you would only drop that loser father of yours and join me…"

"Not happening" the teen said, "I don't know what your game is sending us into the Zone like that but I can tell you right now that it's not going to work."

Vlad tisked at the ghost hero almost mockingly, "Now, now, Daniel you should know that nothing you do can stop me. Whatever my 'game' is it's already in motion, who's to say I haven't completed my objective already? Who's to say there even was an objective in the first place?"

Danny snorted, "You wouldn't have gone to all that trouble if you didn't have something in mind."

The evil halfa didn't flinch but was mildly impressed at the astute assumption however false it was.

In truth Vlad had concocted the idea a long time ago. It started out as a fleeting thought and he'd bribed one of the city council members to pitch it at one of their meetings in an effort to plant a seed should he ever decide to water the plant. Honestly it was a whim on his part, not exactly something that he ever planned on using, but when he'd found himself debating how best to make the young hero squirm the thought once again surfaced.

Granted that he also wanted Daniel and his nosy friends out of the way while he transferred a few truckloads of DALV tech from one – formerly – secret storage center to another. Honestly the billionaire was beginning to question Skulkers usefulness, particularly after his last confrontation with the ghost boy, which had ended in the aforementioned – formerly – secret storage center. Nothing had been severely damaged but some of the crates had been cracked open in plain view of the teens.

They were too preoccupied containing the hunter to notice and ended up leaving just as clueless as they'd entered but Vlad still didn't like their knowledge of the place. He would never admit it out loud but that Tucker Foley had become quite an accomplished hacker, managing to devastate more than one computer mainframe over the years. Vlad Masters hadn't gotten to where he was in life without a little caution so while he doubted that the boy would be able to crack his firewalls he'd decided to play it safe and move the tech to a more secure location while the trio were conveniently busy.

Though the latter reason was more of a bonus. The main purpose for instigating the trip was to cause that meddling ghost boy to sweat. There were also a few…unexpected bonuses for his efforts.

But of course Daniel didn't know this.

Allowing his smile to widen into a grin Vlad sat back in his seat and palmed the mouse again, clicking through the camera feed that had been playing on his screen. He'd already seen the footage a thousand times in the past two days and the initial shock factor had long worn off, only curiosity remained. His gaze moved to the white-haired teen floating on the other side of his desk. What better place to get information than from the source?

Scooting his chair closer to the desk Vlad grabbed the computer screen and turned it around to face Danny, who visibly stiffened when he saw what was displayed there. He managed to school his features into a more neutral expression but the evil halfa had already taken note of his initial reaction, his grin growing into something just short of a sneer.

"It looks as if you were quite busy during your little field trip weren't you Daniel?" Vlad asked, tilting the screen back so that both of them could watch.

The video was muted but that did little to dim the impact considering that the audio was of poor quality in comparison to the picture. Illuminated on the tiny screen both halfa's watched as the flame-haired specter put up a fire shield and melted the ice shards that Danny had hurled at him less than a moment before. He sent the shield flying toward the unprotected ghost boy, who hastened to cover himself in an icy coat of protection that melted under the heat of the flames but allowed him to come out unscathed.

Unfortunately the evil specter managed to cover the distance between them and twist his arm behind his back. There was a short conversation before the larger of the two spun and heaved the ghost boy into the distance, taking off after him.

Vlad turned the computer screen back around just before static overtook the picture, leading to the assumption that the DALV bug he'd used to track the field trips progress had been destroyed. If he were more welcome in the Far Frozen the evil halfa may have gone out to try and retrieve the bug to confirm this conclusion but as it stood he was in no position to do so. It was probably buried under debris from the battle anyway.

"This is quite an interesting development I must say" Vlad drawled, once more relaxing into imported leather cushions.

"Whatever your planning Plasmius it would be a mistake to involve _him_ " Danny said, "he's not the kind of guy someone like you could take on."

"Think what you like Daniel but I have my methods" the evil halfa replied.

The halfa teen slammed both hands on his desk, making it quiver under the force. "I don't care how powerful you think you are Vlad" Danny hissed, eyes glowing brighter than Vlad had ever seen them, "but trust me when I tell you that you can't win this one. It _will_ blow up in your face and if, somehow, you make it out of that catastrophe alive I'll see to it that your locked up somewhere so impossibly, unbelievably, escape-proof that it will take an act of God to get you out."

Surprisingly the boy's words rang true. He was actually threatening in earnest. Not that he hadn't before. Danny had shouted about shoving Vlad into the abyss more than once during their banter but never with this amount of conviction. The billionaire found himself suppressing the shiver that threatened to travel up his spine.

Seemingly satisfied that Vlad had taken his words to heart Danny gave him one more narrow-eyed glare before floating up and through the ceiling. He didn't even glance back.

The evil halfa sat in silence for a few moments until his white Persian ambled out from behind the sofa and meowed loudly before hopping into her master's lap. His hand automatically came up to stroke her fur and she gazed at him with her huge yellow eyes in apparent question.

"I'm alright Maddie…just thinking is all" he replied to her look, scratching her under the chin and effectively distracting her.

Vlad wasn't really planning on going out to look for the mystery specter that the video had shown Daniel fighting. Aside from his apparently overwhelming strength there was also the matter of the distinctly familiar DP symbol emblazoned across his chest, that alone was enough of an unknown to deter Vlad Masters. Not that he was afraid of Daniel Fenton, oh no, he could bat that boy back and forth any day of the week. But Daniel was easy to manipulate, very young, very naïve, the perfect pawn on a chess board.

This new personage however, appeared to not be that same sort. He had no apparent allies so Vlad couldn't attempt to pull the same trick he had on Pariah – using a pair of teenage pawns and a knight to topple a king. He was also clearly too strong to defeat head on. Not that the evil halfa claimed to be an expert but he certainly knew a losing battle when he saw one. He preferred not to get his hands dirty, but would do so if the need called for it. Facing this force of nature though, that would undoubtedly lead to severe injury or worse.

But the way that Daniel had reacted to the video…perhaps that could be useful.

Lord knows that plenty of the other data he'd collected would be added to the information he kept on Daniel and his friends. The only thing that Vlad truly bemoaned was that he'd only sent one DALV fly on the wall to keep track of the trip. It had followed Daniels group, leaving Sam and Tucker unsupervised. He'd managed to get a general idea of their movements based on the conversations they'd had with Daniel via the Fenton Phones and the short conversation in the Far Frozen infirmary after they'd met up – the latter being much shorter and less distinct given the need to keep the camera bug hidden from anyone who may decide to either squish it or recognize it for what it actually was.

Vlad relaxed into the imported leather chair, the tension from his conversation with the ghost boy finally leaving his body.

' _And to think that I was actually considering arranging the crash myself so that I'd have an excuse to bring a team in and show Maddie how much more capable I am than her oaf of a husband'_ the billionaire thought idly, referring to the idea that had struck him shortly after the speeder had entered the Ghost Zone.

He had actually been reaching for the phone to contact Skulker and see if he could make that reality when Desiree had saved him the trouble. While it would have been satisfying to see that plan through he still got plenty of good publicity when he'd announced that he was putting together a specialized team with his own personal funds to go into the Ghost Zone after the field trippers.

Of course he refrained from announcing this until late Tuesday afternoon and stated that it would take another day to get everything up and running. Everyone returned before his 'preparations' were complete but he still got points for the effort, especially when he'd faked concern for his 'dear friends' the Fenton's and the 'poor children' and announced that he would be leading the expedition into the Zone.

His announcement on the revision of the city council also helped to bolster his public image, though there were a few skeptics who believed that the mayor was partially responsible given the influence he has in the city council. Naturally those that were on his side argued back, saying that the current city council had been chosen by the former mayor and it was the outlandish action of one individual that caused this catastrophe, thus blame shouldn't be spread among those that weren't even involved.

This debate had taken up a considerable amount of news time already and was still ongoing. But the skeptics could say what they wanted Vlad's approval ratings had already gone up almost 5% from the whole fiasco, not bad for one whimsical scheme, not bad at all.

Now fully relaxed Vlad perused through the videos again and rang for his secretary to bring him a cup of coffee, which she did promptly and efficiently before scurrying off to manage some paperwork he'd given her. While he sipped from the steaming mug the evil halfa brainstormed about how best to use the footage against the young Daniel Fenton.

' _Should I show it live to the entire town to reinforce the Public Enemy #1 image?'_

' _Perhaps I could present it to the Fenton's and claim that it was submitted anonymously…even if they were in the Ghost Zone with Daniel while this was going on I doubt he let them get close enough to see anything too incriminating…"_

Oh there were just so many possibilities.

 **TCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTCTC**

 **Okay so first off I decided to just make this a bonus chapter rather than a One-shot simply because I feel like more people would find it this way. Who the heck is gonna check my profile every few days to see if I've actually posted this am I right?**

 **Now I know that a few people were concerned about Vlad's involvement in all this, well I actually shoved in pretty much every reason I could think of that he might benefit from this into the bonus chapter above. I hope that it doesn't come off as too cramped together but it's the best I've got, I think that I did a good job showing his evil overconfidence and pride.**

 **Honestly he's a really messed up dude and this is how I picture him thinking. I also know that he underestimates Danny and his friends a lot so I made sure to throw some of that in there too without it being too overdone, he is an evil narcissist who believes that the worlds are his own personal game of chess after all, he's not stupid, you kinda' expect him to be just a bit prepared for what Danny and the others might throw at him.**

 **Of course as you can see he's focusing on entirely the wrong things. I would imagine that Danny has learned to keep a closer eye on Vlad in the past few years, maybe had Tucker bug a few of his servers or something, but with everything that he has on his plate how is he going to notice Vlad moving all that DALV tech from warehouse A to warehouse B?**

 **But there's always the chance that word could get back to him no matter how slim it is so why not right?**

 **Meanwhile Vlad doesn't even consider the possibility that they found his bug or that Danny's parents are in on the big secret. He could easily have probed Danny for more information there but trying to rattle him with that video of Dan was probably how he planned to loosen his tongue a little bit, once you get someone flustered enough it's easy to get them to talk.**

 **Vlad doubtlessly had a bunch of questions too considering that the bug was watching Danny from the moment the trip began to half-way through his fight with Dan. There's no evidence in the series of Vlad having any idea about Danny's ghostly allies (or if he does no one knows if he CARES) so I would assume that would be the type of info he would love to get his hands on if only to have it, especially considering that Vlad doesn't really have any ghostly allies (he pays Skulker so that doesn't count, more of a business transaction really. Don't even get me started on the Fright Knight he basically paid him off too).**

 **If he followed Danny then he should only know about Wulf and the inhabitants of the Far Frozen, the latter he already knew about and the former he's probably not too concerned over. May or may not know about Pandora and Dora depending on how bad the audio function on that bug was (who knows, maybe it was damaged in the crash).**

 **Either way I'm satisfied with this and damn proud of myself for coming up with what I believe are convincing reasons for his involvement.**

 **The last loose end I want to tie up is why didn't Jazz report about his apparent press boost in her report when they came back? Well she was mostly hanging out in the lab during that time with a book propped up in her lap, both waiting for them to return and making sure that no ghosts got through while she kept the portal open. Not to mention that she had to try and control the chaos when they got a warrant and stormed the basement, leaving no time to watch TV and figure out what their 'esteemed' mayors take on all this was.**

 **Tucker probably mentioned it in the brief he gave Danny the morning after but it was mostly overshadowed by the whole city council crisis. Danny didn't see it while he was flipping channels because…well when do you hear anything but the title of whatever news stuff is playing when flipping channels?**

 **THECASTORBEAN**

 **ORDERS YOU TO COMMENT**


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